Daughter's Lament
by kbrewster
Summary: When Elizabeth Prentiss' health starts to decline, Emily drops everything and returns to DC. The ambassador wants to keep her condition quiet, so Emily tells no one of her return. How long can she keep her return to the States a secret? How does she learn to take care of her mother, but also learn to take care of herself? [Rating may change, eventual H/P]
1. Chapter 1

**I've had this story in my head for such a long time, but I finally figured out the logistics of it! It'll be multi-chapter, and eventually it'll probably turn into Hotch/Prentiss. But I want the main focus to be on Emily and her mother. As always, thank you to anyone and everyone who reads, favorites, follows, or reviews! **

XxxxxxxxX

There are two things Emily Prentiss hates most. One is not realizing she's out of her favorite wine; the second is being harshly woken up by the sound of her stupid telephone- especially on a Friday night after a long week of running Interpol.

The brunette groaned loudly when she heard the sound of her landline reverberating through her bedroom. She sat up quickly, growing concerned once she saw it was two o'clock in the morning.

"Prentiss," she snapped harshly after snatching the phone off her nightstand. Whoever was calling her was about to get an earful, she thought bitterly.

"Miss Prentiss, this is George Freedman, your mother's assistant." A familiar male voice said.

Of course, Emily thought. The ambassador didn't even have the decency to wake Emily up herself. She was pretty sure her mother was back in DC, so it was kind of late for a phone call, she wondered what was so important.

"Yes, of course. What's this about? It's very late in London." Emily said firmly, just hoping to end this call and get back to sleep.

"It's your mother, Miss Prentiss..." George said softly, Emily could tell by the tone of his voice that this wasn't just the normal call about a political agenda.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked, immediately becoming much more awake. She and her mother were by no means close, but their relationship had been on the mend ever since Elizabeth came to Emily at the BAU for her help on a case nearly seven years ago. The mother and daughter didn't talk daily, they did well to get a short conversation in once a month, but at least the conversations weren't so forced anymore. Their tones were much less bitter and awkward towards each other. Emily hoped nothing was seriously wrong, because she honestly didn't remember the last time she'd even had a conversation with her mother, let alone visited.

"Your mother's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and it's progressing quickly. She's going to have to move into a nursing home, Emily. She wants you to move her in." George told her regretfully, his voice quiet.

Emily didn't respond for a long moment. Alzheimer's? Emily was pretty sure her mother seemed fine last time they talked. She didn't remember when that was, exactly, but surely she would at least have picked up on it.

"Um..." Emily said finally. "When does she move in?"

"Monday morning. I know it's late there, it's after ten o'clock here, but she was hysterical. She didn't want to tell anyone at first, not even you. But tonight she just- it was kind of like a panic attack. We were talking about moving in, and she just kept saying over and over again that's she wants you here." The man said.

Emily took a sharp breath, suddenly angry. Picturing her mother losing her always cool and calm demeanor was extremely unsettling; but knowing her mother had probably been scared for so long was making her downright pissed. "How long?" She demanded. "How long has she been showing symptoms? When was she diagnosed? Why didn't you tell me?" She asked the questions quickly, her mind spinning. "Did you_ honestly_ think this is something I didn't need to know?"

"Emily, I'm so sorry. She was very specific in her request. Only I have known, other than her doctors. She hasn't even told your father." George said, though that didn't surprise Emily. They'd been divorced since Emily was a teenager, but had been distant years before that. "She began showing symptoms several months ago. You know, forgetting the words for things, losing her keys, forgetting appointments. It wasn't until I accompanied her to a function a few months ago that I knew something was seriously wrong. She had been doing fine, but all of a sudden, she forgot where she was. It only lasted for a few minutes, but she seemed so scared. When she came to, she made me promise to keep it a secret, even from you. She didn't want to worry you. She was sure she was fine." George continued.

The thought of Elizabeth Prentiss being _scared_ was nearly impossible for Emily to wrap her brain around. For Emily's entire life, her mother had been someone that never faltered, never showed any kind of weakness. She always kept her head high, and no matter how Emily had felt about her mother in the past, she had to respect the ambassador for that. The image of her mother so confused and scared was just not sitting right with her.

Emily didn't know what to say, so she said nothing. She barely heard George continue with his story.

"Your mother was diagnosed nearly two months ago. She was doing well; she remained lucid more often than not. But lately...you just have to catch her in the right moment. She has some good days, but a lot of bad ones. She can't take care of herself anymore, Emily. She had a good afternoon today and she decided moving into a nursing home would be in her best interest. She doesn't want me there, doesn't want me to see her like that. She only wants you, and you have to keep it a secret. She doesn't want anyone else to know." George said calmly, but Emily could hear the sadness in his voice.

That didn't surprise her, George had been Elizabeth's assistant for so many years, and Emily considered him family.

Despite any bitterness Emily had ever felt toward her mother, despite their strange relationship, Emily put it all behind her. Her mother needed her, she'd never needed anyone before, and Emily wasn't going to let her mother down.

"I'm on my way." Emily said softly, already out of bed and getting dressed, before getting the necessary information and hanging up the phone.

XxxxxxxxxxX

She hurriedly got out of bed and started piling things into a suitcase while simultaneously grabbing the phone and calling Clyde.

"What the bloody hell is wrong?" She heard Clyde Easter's thick accent speak on the other end.

"Clyde, it's me." Emily said. "I need you to cover for me. I don't know how long. I don't know when… or if, I'm coming back here." She said quickly, too dazed to really explain what was happening.

"Emily?" Clyde asked, finally alert enough to comprehend what was going on. "What are you talking about?"

Emily blew out a breath, chewing on her bottom lip as if it were a lifeline.

"I need you to take over for me. I don't trust anybody else to take care of things." She told him honestly. She hadn't even been working at Interpol long, and she hadn't really gotten to know very many people yet. Clyde was the only person in London she considered a close friend, and that was only because they'd known each other for so long.

"Why?" Clyde asked, recognizing Emily's tone. He could tell she was very upset about something. "Em, are you alright? Has something happened?"

Emily shook her head before remembering he couldn't see her. "No," she replied finally. "I'm okay, it's just… I have to go home, Clyde. I have to go to DC. I can't really… I can't tell you why. But I can tell you that I'm fine, no international arms dealer's trying to kill me." She managed to joke, her go-to response in tense situations.

"If you're absolutely sure there's no threat or danger to you, then yes, I'll cover for you." Clyde replied.

"Thank you so much," Emily said, her vision blurry with tears she was refusing to let fall. She didn't have time for that. "I know there's a lot of stuff you're going to have to deal with, and I know I'll probably be in trouble with my superior, but I have to leave. I have to leave as soon as possible." She was rambling now, tossing the necessary toiletries into her suitcase.

"I'll take care of everything, Emily. I promise." Clyde told her sincerely.

"I'll tell you what's going on, I really will." Emily said. "But I can't right now. So, thank you for doing this for me. I'll really owe you one." She told him.

"Be safe, Em." He said, and the phone call ended.

Emily ran her hands through her hair, plotting her next course of action. She wasn't sure if she should try to book a flight from her computer, or just drive right to the airport and get on the first available flight.

After some debate, she opted for the latter. She grabbed her passport from the safe in her office in her tiny London flat, her purse, her suitcase, and headed out the door.

XxxxxxX

Emily sped to the airport, thankful that she had decided to get her own car, rather than depend on public transportation. With her job, sometimes she needed to be places quickly, so it made sense to have her own car. She turned into a parking spot faster than anyone should ever be moving in a parking lot, got out all her stuff, and headed to the desk. She was glad it was so late… so early, whatever you wanted to call it, because the airport was practically dead. There were only a handful of people at the front desks.

In less than an hour, Emily had somehow managed to book the next flight to DC, leaving at 6am. She rushed through security, getting through quickly since the airport wasn't busy yet.

She flew to Dublin, which took only an hour and a half. She landed a little before 8am, and had three agonizing hours to wait before she boarded the eight hour flight to DC, which would her there at 2pm local time.

As Emily sat in the Dublin airport, biting her fingernails, she really wanted to call and check on her mother, but she knew it was late in DC. She didn't want to somehow make anything worse. She e-mailed George her itinerary, so he knew when to expect her. He replied and said he would come with Elizabeth and pick her up, but Emily told him she would just get a cab from the airport and head to the house. The house in DC that Emily had always loved the most growing up, but seemed to spend the least amount of time at.

It was just far enough out of the city that you could see the stars at night, but close enough that Elizabeth could get to the embassy or the white house, or wherever she was needed, in a fair amount of time. Emily remembered spending nights out on the patio in front of the house, just looking at the stars and reading by flashlight.

Emily picked at her fingernails, wishing she had remembered to bring something to do. She hadn't been thinking about waiting and layovers, only about getting home. DC. The only place that had truly felt like home to Emily for as long as she could remember. She sighed, leaning back into the uncomfortable airport seat, finally allowing herself to let a few tears fall from her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm so glad so many of you are interested in this story already! All the alerts I woke up to this morning inspired me to go ahead and get this next chapter up. I hope I'll have another one up this week, but I have a lot going on at school, so it could be the weekend before I get it typed and ready. Hope you guys enjoy and bear with me! : )**

The flight to DC was long and exhausting. Emily was just glad getting through customs wasn't difficult; because she wasn't sure she would've been able to handle any more stress.

She was more than surprised when she rolled her suitcase out to the front of the airport and found George and her mother sitting down, waiting for her.

"Hi," Emily said as she came up to them, not really sure what to do. Truthfully, she was glad they'd come to pick her up. Actually seeing her mother, sitting cross legged in front of her, calmed her nerves significantly.

"Hello, dear." Elizabeth replied, standing up and embracing Emily in a tight hug. It was definitely out of character, but in this moment, Emily greatly welcomed it.

"How are you feeling?" Emily asked.

"I'm alright, I suppose." Elizabeth answered honestly.

Emily smiled, turning to George. By now he had stood from his chair. He hugged Emily tightly, something that wasn't uncommon for the older man. She hugged him back, forcing herself not to cry.

"Thank you for coming," George said softly, meant for her ears only.

"Of course," Emily said as she pulled away. The three finally headed out to the car. George drove them home, Elizabeth sat in the passenger seat, and Emily settled in the back.

Elizabeth stared out the window, not saying anything. It was strange, normally Elizabeth would be grilling her daughter on every aspect of her life. Was she sure she wanted to stay in law enforcement? Because it was rather dangerous, she was sure she could get Emily a job in politics. Was she eating enough? She looked too thin. Was she seeing anyone? Because Elizabeth wasn't going to wait around to be a grandma forever.

But instead, the car ride was comfortably silent. Emily picked at her nails absentmindedly.

Nearly forty five minutes later, they finally reached the gates of the Prentiss estate. This was the biggest house they had, and ironically the one they saw the least of.

Emily gazed out the window; the large brick house hadn't changed at all. She looked up to the second floor window on the left, the room that had been hers when they were here.

They headed inside, and George took Emily's stuff up to her old bedroom, despite her protests that she could do it herself.

"Are you hungry, Emily? I know the flight was long." Elizabeth said.

"I'm alright, Mother." Emily replied, biting her lip. She probably should have been hungry, since it was nearing dinner time and she hadn't eaten all day, but the thought of food made her stomach turn.

"At least let me make you some tea." Elizabeth offered as she guided Emily into the kitchen.

Emily sat at the breakfast bar, watching as Elizabeth started the tea. In this moment, it was hard to know that anything was wrong with her.

The younger brunette cleared her throat, and Elizabeth looked up to meet her daughter's eyes.

"Are you, um, sure you're okay?" Emily asked softly.

"I'm alright, Emily. Today's a good day, but at night I'll probably get worse. That's how it's been happening lately." Elizabeth explained.

Emily nodded. "Are you sure moving is what you want to do?"

Elizabeth sighed, sitting next to Emily. "No, Emily. I don't want to do this. But, I'm aware enough now to know that this isn't going to get any better. I can't ask you or George to take care of me. It'll get to a point where I may not be able to do anything for myself, and I can't ask either of you to do that for me."

Emily swallowed thickly. "We could stay here, at least until it gets any worse." She suggested, not exactly sure why she was doing it. Once a Prentiss woman made up her mind, there was no changing it.

"It's okay, I'm sure." Elizabeth assured her daughter, something that Emily never really needed her mother for, but was greatly welcomed now.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Emily asked. Her tone wasn't bitter or accusing, just genuinely curious.

Elizabeth sighed. "I guess I was in denial about it. If I didn't tell anyone, maybe it would just go away."

Emily nodded in understanding. Elizabeth rose from her seat and finished up the tea, and the two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Em, I need you to promise me something." Elizabeth said suddenly.

"Of course, what is it?" Emily asked, looking up to meet Elizabeth's eyes.

"No matter what happens, no matter how bad this gets, please, Emily, please don't…don't tell anyone." Elizabeth begged, something Emily had never heard coming from the ambassador. Emily could swear she heard Elizabeth's voice shaking.

"What if people start asking questions, Mother?" Emily asked. The term 'mother' sounded so cold and distant, but Emily had started calling Elizabeth that when she was a teenager out of spite, and it was a hard habit to break.

"Say what you have to, Em. People will start wanting to come and see me…just- don't let them." Elizabeth said again, taking Emily's hands in hers, squeezing them tightly. "Promise me." Elizabeth's voice shook undeniably. Emily had to blink a few times to keep her own tears at bay.

"I promise, Mom. It'll just be me allowed to come in. If anyone asks, I'll tell them you're travelling. You're due to retire soon anyway, aren't you?" Emily asked, trying to keep the mood light. If her mother broke down right now, Emily knew she would, too.

"Yes. That's right. People will probably be wondering why I'm not having a party or function of something. You have to convince them that I'm okay." Elizabeth said.

"I will." Emily sent her mother a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Thank you, Emily." Elizabeth said tearfully, quickly taking her hands away from Emily's and running them over her face, in an effort to hide the tears.

Emily had finished her mug of tea, and sat the now mostly empty mug in the sink, giving her mother time to collect herself.

The brunette realized suddenly just how tired she was, and was just about to head up the stairs and try to take a nap, when Elizabeth gently grabbed Emily's arm to get her attention.

"Em?" Elizabeth said softly. Emily smiled, the nickname from her childhood reminding her that everything wasn't always bad. Her mother wasn't always so distant from Emily. She'd always called Emily "Em" when she wasn't yelling at her for being a rebellious teenager, or refusing to go to another gala, or wearing a revealing dress to said galas. It was a simple nickname, plenty of people called Emily that, but when her mother called her that, it was just a bit more special.

"Yeah?" She finally replied, turning and facing her mother again, the woman was still sitting at her place at the breakfast bar.

"I know we haven't always been close, and I know that at times you've hated me. I'm just not…I was never good at being a warm, open person. I really tried my best, honey. And I just want you to know that I have always, always loved you. Even when you ran around dressed in all black with that God-awful black make up and strange hairdo." Elizabeth said sincerely, laughing breathily at the last statement.

Emily had to laugh softly. That was a phase of her life she sure would like to forget.

"I love you, too." Emily replied simply. She bent down slightly and hugged Elizabeth tightly, letting the woman know that she understood.

When they broke apart, Elizabeth reached up and touched Emily's cheek with her palm, wiping away a tear with her thumb. Emily wasn't even aware she'd started crying. Then again, she was so exhausted; she could have been talking to a monkey for all she knew.

"Why don't you go up and get some sleep? I'll wake you for dinner." Elizabeth suggested.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?" Emily asked, she had come all the way to take care of her mother, and it seemed Elizabeth was set on taking care of Emily for now.

"It's okay, I can manage. Go get some rest." Elizabeth said firmly, but gently. Emily just nodded and slowly made her way up the stairs into her old childhood bedroom. She shut the door quietly behind her, switching on the light. It looked exactly the same as it had when she graduated high school, when her she and her mother moved back to ensure Emily graduated in the states. Except now, it was much cleaner than Emily ever kept it. There weren't clothes strewn all over the dresser and the floor. Her closet wasn't hanging half open with clothes spilling out. There weren't any half empty water bottles sitting around.

But the red walls, the beige walls and carpet, the red and white patterned duvet, that was all still the same. Emily smiled at the familiarity. She remembered the hours she spent in this room, first as a young child, and eventually a teenager. This was the room she had always stayed in when she visited from college. Emily couldn't really remember the last time she'd actually been here for more than one day since she graduated. She remembered how her room had been pink and mint green when she was a baby, but by the time Emily was three, she demanded new colors. She'd chosen blue, and it had stayed that way until Emily was a teenager. Then, she had gone for this more adult look. That was mostly a desperate attempt to prove to her mother that she was not, in fact, an immature teenager; but she was a very responsible adult.

She kicked off her shoes and didn't even bother changing out of her worn jeans and old Yale sweatshirt. She switched the light back off and crawled into the bed, pulling the covers up over her head. Emily curled into herself as tightly as possible, and finally let herself break down. It had been such a long day. She was physically and emotionally exhausted, and she knew things were going to get a whole lot worse before they got better.

Emily wasn't sure how long she lay under her blankets, trying to hide from the world, even if just for a moment. She wasn't sure how much time she spent crying, but eventually, she found herself unable to keep her eyes open any longer. She greatly welcomed sleep.

XxxxxxxxX

Emily woke to a knock on her door. She groaned, poking her head out from under her duvet. There stood Elizabeth Prentiss in the door way.

"Em, dinner's downstairs if you want any. I'm sorry to wake you, but I didn't want it to get cold." Elizabeth relayed.

Emily stretched and sat up, fully awake now. Her stomach growled, and she had to laugh.

"So, that's a yes to dinner?" Elizabeth asked, a twinkle in her eye. Who would've thought Elizabeth Prentiss knew how to joke.

Emily chuckled, throwing the covers off her legs and getting out of bed. The mother-daughter duo headed down the stairs together, side by side.

"Well that depends, you're not going to make me eat frog legs, are you?" Emily asked, remembering being in France when she was about six or seven. Elizabeth had told her she had to eat them to be polite. Instead, little Emily had hid them in her napkin and went to find the French ambassador's dog. She'd gotten quite the lecture after that one.

Elizabeth laughed, recalling the very memory Emily was talking about. Emily was glad, her mother seemed normal. She hoped she would remain this lucid until at least the next day, because as soon as she ate dinner, Emily hoped to go right back to sleep.

"No, dear. No frog legs. I ordered Chinese." Elizabeth said, showing Emily to the table.

"You ordered take out?" Emily asked, as they sat down, George joining them.

"I'm an ambassador, not an idiot. Of course I order take out! How do you think I got by in all those meetings for so many years?" Elizabeth asked as she opened the containers of food.

Emily shrugged, taking the carton of noodles and putting nearly half of them on her plate. "I dunno, I guess I just thought you never had to eat."

Elizabeth laughed, reaching over to take a forkful of Emily's noodles and eating them before responding. "Do you believe me now?"

"Yes, and that's going to cost you." Emily replied as she stabbed a piece of sesame chicken from Elizabeth's own plate. Emily couldn't believe this dinner was so calm, so carefree. Emily didn't seem to have to worry about keeping a napkin in her lap, or which fork to use for what food, or keeping her elbows off the table.

Emily wished it could always be like this, but she knew it couldn't. She remembered the only reason she was here now was because her mother was very sick. She wasn't going to get any better. She didn't let herself get emotional, not when Elizabeth and George seemed to have released some of their anxieties. So she shook the negative thoughts from her mind, set on having a nice dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

**So sorry this took me so long to get up! I had such a crazy week at school, I had to get two research papers done (and maybe, just maybe, that was due to my awesome procrastination skills…)! But I hope I can update more regularly now, but just know that I really, really love reading all your reviews, and I do plan to see this through to the end! I've got it mostly all planned. Thank you for all your favorites, follows, and reviews! **

XxxxX

Sunday started out relatively slow, Emily didn't even wake up until 11am. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so late. She decided to shower, since she hadn't had time or energy since she had arrived in DC.

When she finally headed down the stairs, she found her mother in her office; stacks of papers all around her. She looked deep in thought, her brow furrowed as she read the paper in front of her, twirling her pen in her hand. Her glasses she only wore when she was reading for extended periods of time were low on her nose.

Emily gently knocked on the opened door, alerting Elizabeth to her presence.

"Good morning, Emily." Elizabeth greeted her daughter as she looked up from her desk, sending Emily a warm smile.

"Barely," Emily smiled back, leaning against the door frame. "I haven't slept this late since...well, probably high school." She laughed softly.

"I figured you needed it, yesterday was pretty stressful for you, I'm sure." Elizabeth replied.

"No, it wasn't." Emily assured her mother, not wanting her to think that her flying out was an inconvenience.

"Honey, you were woken up in the middle of the night, and then you were told your mother had Alzheimer's, and you immediately flew out here. It's okay; I would be stressed out too." Elizabeth said softly. "Besides, you _run _Interpol, so I'm sure finding someone to handle things wasn't easy." She added.

"Actually, that's been taken care of; the guy who gave me that job is taking care of it for me. I'm not entirely sure who's doing his job, though. But everything will get done." Emily said truthfully, sincerely. She could tell her mother was feeling guilty about her coming all the way out here, but she wouldn't let Elizabeth think she wanted to be anywhere else, because she didn't.

Emily crossed the room and sat down in a chair by Elizabeth's desk. She put her elbows on the handcrafted, wooden desk, and rested her head in her hands.

"What are you working on?" Emily asked curiously.

Elizabeth sighed before looking up and meeting Emily's eyes.

"It's my will." Elizabeth replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Emily felt her breath catch in her throat. She had to clear her throat before she could respond.

"Oh," was all she could say. Emily knew her mother had created a will quite some time ago, should something have happened when Emily was young; but to see her updating it now made everything seem just a bit more real.

"Mostly everything will go to you," Elizabeth said. "We only owned one other property, in Italy. But I've put it up for sale, so hopefully you won't have to do anything with it." That was good, Emily guessed. When they'd lived elsewhere, they were usually given some kind of governmental housing; but in DC and Italy they had their own houses.

"I don't- what am I supposed to do with it?" Emily asked. She wasn't even sure what 'it' entailed.

"Whatever you want, Emily. It'll be yours." Elizabeth said.

Emily took a breath and let it out slowly, as if that would give her time to come up with an answer.

"Okay..." She settled on saying. "Well, that won't be for a few years at least." Emily said.

"We can hope." Elizabeth said softly.

"Mom," Emily said as she reached across the desk and put a hand on her mother's hand. "You're okay." She said softly.

Elizabeth didn't say anything, just looked up at her daughter with a tearful smile. Wordlessly, she simply put down her pen and placed her hand on top of Emily's.

They remained that way for a while, neither one of them needing anything to say anything, just the presence of each other being enough.

"Well," Elizabeth said finally, "I'll finish this up later."

"Are you sure? I can-um, I can leave you alone for a bit." Emily offered.

"It's alright, Em. It's pretty much all settled anyway, you'll have to take it to my lawyer sometime this week to make it official, or have him come to...to the place." Elizabeth faltered slightly.

Emily just nodded.

"How about we get some lunch?" Elizabeth suggested. Emily agreed, and the two rose from their seats. They decided to head out to one of their favorite DC cafés, just the two of them. Neither one of them said it, but they knew opportunities like that would become fewer and farther in between in the coming years.

XxxxxX

The rest of the day went by rather smoothly; Emily helped her mother pack up the few remaining things she would be taking with her the next day to move in. Just before dinner, Elizabeth went up to her room to take a nap. Emily promised to take care of the meal that night since Elizabeth had done so the night before.

Emily decided to actually cook something, rather than call for something. George insisted on helping, so together, they rummaged through the kitchen for something to have for dinner. They found enough ingredients to make chicken parmesan and set to work, making effortless conversation.

When everything was just about ready, Emily and George heard Elizabeth coming down the stairs.

"Hey," Emily greeted warmly as her mother stood in the doorway. Emily stopped what she was doing; nearly dropping the stack of plates she had taken out to set the table when she noticed how confused her mother looked.

"Emily? What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked. Emily closed her eyes, slowly setting the plates down on the counter in front of her in an effort not to drop them.

"It's okay, Emily. Just stay calm, tell her the truth." She was faintly aware of George coming to stand next to her; he put his arm around her gently. He knew Emily hadn't yet seen her mother like this, and he was trying to comfort her. Emily appreciated the effort and understood, but she wished he would let her go so she could run upstairs. _No, _she told herself. She couldn't freak out now, now was when her mother would need her to be the strongest.

Emily took a breath and let it out slowly before she continued. "You asked me to come here." Emily said simply, she didn't know exactly how much truth to disclose.

"I- I didn't…don't you have school?" Elizabeth asked, brow furrowed as if she was desperately trying to remember why her daughter was in her house, making dinner. She was sure Emily was supposed to be at Yale.

"No, Mom. I don't have school. I'm here for you." Emily said gently, too afraid to move from the spot she was standing in now that she had started talking.

"But- I- Emily, how long have you been here?" Elizabeth settled on asking.

"I got in yesterday. It's okay, Mom. It's just me." Emily said, gathering the strength to walk across the room and hug her mother in an effort to calm her down.

Elizabeth didn't hug her back, she just stood there still as a statue.

"Emily, it's finals week, isn't it? You're not skipping your exams, are you?" Elizabeth questioned. Emily looked at the calendar; it was the right time of year for a college to be having final exams.

Emily glanced at George, silently begging him to take over.

"Elizabeth, why don't you, Emily, and I go sit down? We can all talk together." George offered. Elizabeth nodded slowly, allowing Emily to guide her into the sitting room.

The Prentiss women sat on the couch, while George opted to sit in the chair across from them.

Emily bit back tears. This was so much harder than she'd anticipated.

"Elizabeth, Emily isn't in college any longer. She's graduated." George started out.

"Well, if that's true, why wasn't I at the graduation? I would remember that." Elizabeth said stiffly. Emily cleared her throat, she didn't have the heart to remind her mother that she had missed the graduation because of bad weather in the Ukraine, and her plane wasn't able to takeoff until after it had already happened.

"Mom, I know what I'm going to tell you is going to be hard to hear, but it's the truth. You wanted me here because you've been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. You're moving into a nursing home tomorrow, because you decided it was best. You don't want anyone you know to see you like this…" Emily stopped, noticing her mother begin to twirl her fingers in her lap anxiously. The younger brunette didn't know what to do, what to say.

"I don't- I don't remember." Elizabeth said, her voice cracking.

"That's okay, it's alright." Emily said softly, taking her mother's hands in hers to calm her down.

"I can't be sick. There's so much to do, I have too much to deal with!" Elizabeth said suddenly, quickly rising from the couch and beginning to pace. She was no longer fighting back the tears, but instead letting them fall. Emily had never, not once in her life, seen Elizabeth Prentiss cry. Not out of sadness, anger, or even joy. To see it now was truly one of the scariest, most heart breaking things Emily had ever seen.

"Mom, please, sit back down. Let me- let me read to you." Emily choked out. When she was younger, she would often ask Elizabeth if she could read to her. Sometimes, when Elizabeth was working in her office, Emily would follow her mother there and sit on the floor or in a chair next to Elizabeth's desk and read to her. It was often the only time Emily ever got to spend alone with her mother, and Elizabeth didn't seem to mind it as long as Emily wasn't interrupting an important meeting or phone call, or something of the sort.

Elizabeth stopped pacing, as if she was considering Emily's offer.

"Okay," Elizabeth said finally. "Okay."

Emily led Elizabeth upstairs, back to her bedroom. Elizabeth got back into bed, and Emily went over to Elizabeth's bookcase; the massive mahogany shelves rivaling that of Emily's in terms of how many books fit on the shelves.

Emily picked up _To Kill a Mockingbird_, remembering that she had read it to Elizabeth before, when she was much younger, probably even before she had reached middle school. Emily had learned to read at an early age, and since then had pretty much always been reading something.

"You'll like this one," Emily said softly, sitting next to her mother on the bed. "_When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.." _Emily began to read, trying with great resolution to keep her voice calm and even.

By the beginning of the third chapter, Elizabeth had fallen back to sleep. Emily carefully sat the book on Elizabeth's nightstand, and scrawled a note that dinner was in the fridge, placing it on top of the book.

Emily slowly closed the door behind her as she quickly headed down to the kitchen, wiping at her eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay for just a bit longer.

When she got to the kitchen, she noticed George was still there, getting out containers to put the untouched food in.

"Thanks," Emily breathed. "I was…I was just gonna come do that." She managed to get out.

"You did good, Emily. You did really good." George assured her, abandoning his task and moving to hug her tightly, she welcomed the gesture and hugged him back, not caring about being strong any more. She finally let herself cry.

Emily pulled back, forcing herself to stop crying. George led her back into the sitting room, sitting them both on the couch.

"She looked… she was so confused… she was _crying_." Emily said slowly, as if she was processing what had happened.

"At least she knew who we were…it's been so bad before that she didn't know who I was at all. She threatened to call the police, but I managed to talk her down." George told her gently.

"What- what do I do if she...if she looks at me and doesn't know who I am?" Emily asked, trying not to seem as scared as she was. Her voice sounded foreign even to her.

"Sometimes, you can gently remind her and she'll calm down a little. Pictures help, I've learned. Other times, you might have to go along with it, and leave her be. Sometimes reminding her might just make it worse." George told her.

Emily ran her hands through her hair. "When- when I got here, I thought… I thought maybe she was rushing into this. I thought she was…" She stopped.

"You thought she was okay?" George offered. Emily nodded. Knowing that what she had just seen wasn't the worst it had been made her incredibly nervous, and worried that she was going to mess everything up somehow.

"She only has really bad episodes maybe once or twice a week, smaller ones like tonight are pretty common, though. Yesterday was just a really good day for her. I think you being here helped." George admitted.

"Yeah?" Emily bit her lip.

George nodded. "That night she forgot who I was, I showed her a picture of you and me. It was from several Christmases ago, you might've just graduated from Yale, but somehow, it was enough to convince her that I wasn't going to hurt her. If you trusted me, then she could too." He said with a smile.

Emily smiled, though more tears were threatening to fall.

"If you don't feel like eating, I'll put everything away. It'll be okay to heat up tomorrow." George said finally, after they had sat in a comfortable silence for a while.

"I can help," Emily offered, though she knew it was a futile attempt.

"Why don't you go get some rest?" He suggested. She just nodded, too emotionally exhausted to do any kind of arguing.

She bid the man goodnight and headed up the stairs and to her bedroom. She didn't bother changing into pajamas; she just fell into bed and pulled the covers around her as tightly as she could. She let herself break down once more, before drifting off to sleep. Even as sleep was consuming her, she couldn't help but think about how hard the next day was going to be.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you guys so much for all your reviews! It's time for Elizabeth to move into the nursing home, and for the record I just made one up, so if there is one somewhere with the same name, they aren't the same! I hope to get at least one more chapter up by the end of the weekend, so I hope you guys enjoy! **

XxxxxX

When the alarm went off, Emily reached out and turned it off immediately. She hadn't really been sleeping; she had woken up in the middle of the night and couldn't get herself to fall back asleep. She spent the last several hours just lying in bed, dreading the day's events.

Honestly, Emily hadn't ever planned to move her mother into a nursing home. As irrational as it seemed, she just saw her mother as an unstoppable force; as a strong, independent woman who wouldn't get old, wouldn't get sick.

Emily sighed and sat up in bed, running her hands through her messy hair. She thought about showering, but decided she didn't really see the point. She tossed her hair up into a ponytail, changed out of her pajamas and into a pair of yoga pants and a loose fitted t-shirt.

She headed down the stairs to find Elizabeth and George already awake and in the kitchen. They were seated at the breakfast bar, mugs of coffee in front of them. Neither one seemed to be drinking it, they were just talking quietly.

"Hey," Emily said softly as she stood across from them, resting her elbows on the bar and leaning against it. "How are you?" She asked her mother softly. She wasn't sure how Elizabeth reacted after an episode like the one she had had the previous night.

"I'm okay, Emily." Elizabeth assured her. She reached across the bar and took one of Emily's hands in hers. "I'm sorry." She added faintly.

Emily sent her mother a weak smile. "It's not your fault," She said honestly. "Don't be sorry, okay?" Elizabeth nodded, but Emily knew she still felt a little guilty about last night.

The trio worked together to make breakfast, but no one was very hungry; so they mostly just pushed the food around their plates before finally giving up and putting their plates in the sink.

"I'll help put your things in the car." George offered, as they all headed up the stairs where most of Elizabeth's belongings were packed up. They brought down the suitcases and few boxes of things in two trips. By then, it was only half an hour before Elizabeth's check in time. That gave them just enough time to drive to the nursing home.

"Are you ready?" Emily asked, knowing she wasn't.

Elizabeth nodded, she hugged George goodbye, whispering something Emily couldn't hear into his ear. Emily had to look away, she knew this was the last time the two were going to see each other. Elizabeth didn't want anyone to come to the nursing home but Emily. George had worked for Elizabeth for years, since Emily was a teenager. He had become a part of their family, yet Emily understood her mother's reasoning. She wondered if, maybe in another place and time, her mother and George would have gotten together romantically. She had known for years that George had fallen in love with her mother. She had often wondered if Elizabeth had ever even noticed, but she could tell as they bid each other goodbye, that Elizabeth knew.

Once they pulled away, Elizabeth hurried to sit in the passenger seat of the car.

"I'll see you later." Emily told the tall, gray haired man. Though she would be back later that day, Emily hugged the man tightly, anyway.

"Take care of her." George whispered. Emily nodded into his shoulder. She pulled away and wiped at her eyes before she got into the car and drove away into the direction of the nursing home.

XxxxxX

The ride to the nursing home only took about twenty minutes, but both Emily and Elizabeth were silent, so it felt like an eternity. Neither woman knew what to say. What was there to say? They both knew that no matter what the other said, it wasn't going to make this change any easier.

Finally, Emily pulled into the parking lot of Beacon Ridge Nursing Home and found a parking spot close to the front door. She and Elizabeth headed inside, and Emily helped Elizabeth sign in. That process was easy, and it didn't take a lot of time.

Ten minutes after arriving, Emily, Elizabeth, and a couple of nurses were unloading Elizabeth's luggage and taking it up to room 205. Emily bit her lip the whole ride up the elevator, and tried not to cry. She had to do this for her mother; she had to be strong for her. Emily admired how brave Elizabeth was being through all this. She wasn't sure she could do the same.

When they reached room 205, the nurses unlocked the door and went in first, putting both of Elizabeth's suitcases at the foot of the bed. Emily sat a box on the bed, and Elizabeth did the same.

"We'll leave you to unpack, but come back down when you're ready and we'll get everything completely finalized." The petite redheaded woman named Katherine said sweetly, as she and the taller, blonde nurse named Amelia left the room, closing the door behind them.

Emily and Elizabeth unpacked everything, putting all the clothes in the closet, sitting out the pictures and books Elizabeth had brought with her. The room looked too plain, too impersonal, despite their efforts to give it a more homey feeling.

"I can bring some blankets from the house for you." Emily offered, speaking to her mother for the first time since they left the house.

"That would be nice; you can do it next time you come. There's no hurry, dear." Elizabeth said, not meeting Emily's eyes as she straightened the beige comforter on the bed.

"I'll come every day." Emily said, unaware her mother didn't already know that. "I could even go home and get more things now and have them here for tonight." She offered again.

"Emily, I don't expect you to be here all the time. That's the whole point of me moving here. So no one has to… deal with me." Elizabeth told her daughter, sitting on the bed.

"Mom," Emily said gently, sitting next to Elizabeth. "You can't expect me to just drop you off and leave you here. I wouldn't do that. This isn't your fault. You know that, don't you?" Emily questioned seriously.

"I don't know," Elizabeth whispered.

"What do you mean?" Emily prodded, gently putting her arm around Elizabeth's shoulder.

Elizabeth took a breath and sighed. "I just- I wasn't the best mother to you. Maybe this is my punishment for that. Forcing you to take care of me until I eventually die." Elizabeth mumbled darkly.

"You aren't forcing me to do anything. This isn't a punishment. Mom, do you really think that? I know we haven't ever had a great relationship, but…but I've never honestly hated you. I always admired your ability to handle yourself and always appear so brave and strong. Even when I was sneaking out and getting into trouble." Emily assured her mother, squeezing her shoulder lightly. She ignored that last part about her mother dying, she couldn't think about that right now.

Elizabeth blinked back tears. "I know…I know. I suppose it's easier to feel like God or the universe is punishing me, rather than it being some random genetic thing, or whatever."

Emily smiled supportively. "It'll be alright." She said.

Elizabeth nodded. "We should head back down, get everything settled. Then I want you to go home and sleep. I don't want you to worry about me, I'll be okay."

"I can stay, it's really-" Emily was cut off.

"No, honey. There's not much else you can do for me today, you've been a big help. Thank you." Elizabeth assured her daughter.

Emily bit her lip, but finally agreed. They headed down to the lobby, where everything was finalized, and Emily was given a full tour by Katherine the nurse, while Elizabeth went back up to her room.

Before heading back home, Emily went back up to room 205. She found Elizabeth lying on the bed, fast asleep. The brunette smiled, gently tossing one of the nursing home's blankets over her sleeping mother, and vowing to visit as early as possible in the morning with more comfort items for her.

XxxxxX

As soon as Emily got back home, she was met with an anxious George at the door.

"Is she alright?" He asked softly.

"She's okay, for now." Emily replied. "She was so quiet…I think she needs to adjust. She wanted me to come home for the day. I think she needs to be alone for now, you know?"

George nodded, understanding how the Prentiss women processed things.

"You know, she may still want to see you." Emily supplied gently. "I think this is all so scary and new, she's just…she's not sure how to feel. She tried to convince me, and herself, that she was being punished." Emily revealed, feeling a lump form in her throat, knowing she was moments away from crying.

"Punished?" George asked.

Emily nodded. "For- for being a bad mom. But she- she wasn't. She's not." Emily choked out, her voice cracking.

George pulled Emily close to him, just letting her cry for a few minutes. He didn't shush her; he knew she needed to cry.

"She said she felt like she was forcing me to take care of her until she died." Emily rasped a few minutes later, sitting up and looking at the older man in front of her. "I- I don't want her to _die._" Emily realized. The reality of the situation was finally settling in. She knew statistics; she'd Googled Alzheimer's statistics, facts, symptoms, and anything else she could think of the night before when she couldn't sleep. Those were just numbers; they were just words on a laptop screen. But, she realized, they were her new reality.

Her mother _would _die. The disease could progress quickly, it could be within a few years. Elizabeth's doctors could find the right dosages of medicines and treatments, and she could live for ten more years, maybe more. Emily couldn't remember exactly, she had read about the disease until her eyes started crossing. There was no way to know how Elizabeth would fare, not yet, at least. And that thought terrified Emily more than anything.

"I know you don't, Emily. I know." George said softly.

Emily took a breath, willing herself not to cry again. She wanted to have her breakdown in private.

"I'm um, I'm going to take a nap." Emily whispered eventually.

"Should I leave?" George asked.

"What do you mean?" Emily replied, she wanted to be alone for the moment, not forever.

"I was your mother's assistant, but now I'm just some guy in your home." He shrugged.

"George," Emily said seriously. "I've known you since I was a teenager, you're a part of this family, you are not going anywhere." She told him gently, though her tone was firm.

"Are you sure?" He asked, not wanting to be a burden.

"Yes, please, don't go." She told him, knowing there was no way she could do any of this by herself.

George agreed, though he seemed a bit reluctant, and Emily knew that this wouldn't be the last time they had this discussion. But for now, she just wanted to go up to her room and cry herself to sleep, and that's just what she did.

XxxxxX

The next morning, Emily woke early. Visiting hours at the nursing home didn't start until 10am, but Emily wanted to get some things together to take to her mother.

She got the comforter off her mother's bed, and a quilt from the closet in Elizabeth's bedroom, along with some pillows. She hoped these would make her mother feel more at home.

After scrawling a quick note to George and leaving it on the kitchen counter, she took the items to the car and put them in the back seat.

Emily had decided to liven up Elizabeth's room, she would go to the florist and get her an arrangement to keep on her nightstand, and she would replace it as often as she needed to. She didn't really know what else to do to help Elizabeth at the moment, and she hoped that this would at least put a smile on her mother's face.

The florist was only a few miles away, so Emily got there pretty quickly. She headed inside and just looked at all the possible bouquets she could choose from. Emily was a little disappointed that she didn't know her own mother's favorite color, let alone her favorite flower. She bit her lip, pondering over the flowers for a few moments longer. Until she felt someone staring at her.

Emily whipped around, looking wildly around the small shop, nearly freezing when she saw him.

Standing on the other side of the flower shop was none other than Aaron Hotchner, staring at her as if she was some kind of exhibit at a zoo.

**A/N- I know it was kind of mean to end it here, but I hope to get the next part up tomorrow or the next day, since this was getting kind of long. Don't forget to review ; ) **


	5. Chapter 5

**As always thank you so much for your reviews! They're such lovely motivators! Hope you guys enjoy this next part : ) **

XxxxX

Emily briefly considered turning around slowly and running out of the store, but she knew that wouldn't do her any good. She sighed, she should've known she would run into someone eventually. She knew she couldn't keep her return a secret- especially since she was in town for an indefinite amount of time. She just didn't know what she was going to say. She didn't want to lie to Hotch, or to anyone for that matter; but she also wanted to keep her promise to her mother.

She tensed when she noticed Hotch was coming over to talk to her, probably because she hadn't stopped staring at him. _Good going, Emily._ She chastised herself.

"Emily?" He said tentatively when he finally approached her.

"Hi." She said softly, pretending to be interested in some flowers in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" He wondered, his tone not accusing. He seemed generally concerned and confused.

"Um- I'm just here to- to see my mother." She settled on saying, glancing up from the yellow arrangement she was so fixated on. That wasn't a complete lie, at least.

"Oh, she's back in DC?" He asked her. Emily just nodded.

"I thought I would be nice and get some flowers for her or something, you know." She tried to wave it off, but she knew that Hotch probably wouldn't buy it. After all, it wasn't as if Emily hid her rocky relationship with her mother from anyone.

Hotch gave her a look, one that said he didn't quite buy her story, but that he wasn't going to press the issue now.

"Why are you here?" Emily asked, though she figured she already knew.

"I'm just looking for some flowers for Beth. She's in town, and we're supposed to go to dinner tonight. Jack had a doctor's appointment this morning, so I came here to check these out before I went into work." He told her.

"Is Jack okay?" She grew concerned.

"He's fine, just routine." Hotch explained. Emily nodded.

"So you guys are doing well?" Emily asked him, referring to Beth. He seemed to understand what that meant. As he spoke of Beth, Emily could see a certain dimness in his eyes. He told her that she was still in New York, but they were really trying to make long distance work. Jack really liked Beth, and that in itself was enough to motivate Hotch to make it work. It wasn't like he hated Beth or anything, she could tell he did genuinely like her; but Emily just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

She didn't press it, though, because she knew the last thing she wanted was for someone to start trying to read into her personal life right now.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Hotch cleared his throat and spoke again.

"How long are you here?" He asked her.

She bit her lip, unsure of what to say to him.

"Not long," she lied. "That's why I didn't tell anyone I was here." She continued the lie, feeling terrible about it.

"Oh, okay." He replied. Did he actually sound disappointed? Emily couldn't tell if he truly was, or if she was just wishing he would see right through her lie. The two of them had always had a special relationship. Sure, when Emily first joined the team, they hadn't been on great terms. But they had known each other since Emily was at Yale, they hadn't been very close, but she remembered always liking when he was around.

After Foyet, Emily always checked in on Hotch and Jack. She tried not to smother them with her presence, but as time went on she found herself over at his apartment more than she was at her own. Most of the time, when they weren't entertaining Jack, they just sat together on Hotch's couch. Sometimes, she would use his chest as a pillow; other times, Hotch would toss his legs over hers as they sat and watched some dumb TV movie. That was the extent of their physical relationship. It wasn't about that, it was about being there for each other. It was about knowing when to make the other talk about what was on their mind, and when to just simply be there and offer a hand.

Emily began distancing herself as soon as she was told Doyle was after her. There was no way she was going to somehow get Hotch and Jack involved in that mess. Especially not after what the two of them had dealt with after Foyet and Haley's death. She hadn't told him anything, not until it was too late. The seven months she spent in Paris all alone were the longest months of her life. Each day she felt so guilty about keeping such a secret. Hotch had told her so many things, he trusted her with his deepest fears and emotions; and she couldn't bring herself to do the same.

She thought she was doing it to keep him safe. But she knew that had she told him, she wouldn't have had to go after Doyle by herself. She would never have been alone with him in that warehouse. The team wouldn't have had to go in and save her. She wouldn't have gotten staked. She wouldn't have had to fake her death. She wouldn't have gotten the team in trouble once they finally took Doyle down. Everything would've been okay. She realized she kept it from him to keep her walls up, not for his safety. That reality crushed her. She hadn't meant to be so selfish.

After another awkward silence, Emily cleared her throat. "Well, I'd better go." She said.

As she walked away, she heard him speak again. "It was good seeing you, Emily." He called out to her.

She pretended not to hear him; she just made her way out of the flower shop and to her car, fighting back tears the whole time.

XxxxxX

Once Emily got to the nursing home, she signed in and went directly to her mother's room, carrying the items she had brought from back home.

"Hello, Emily." Her mother greeted with a smile, sitting in the big, dark green, cushioned chair in the corner of the room by the window, reading. Emily was thankful her mother seemed to be doing alright today.

"Hey," She returned the greeting as she sat down the things she was carrying at the foot of the bed, before sitting down on the bed herself. Her thumbnail immediately went to her mouth, a horrible habit she just hadn't been able to break.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked.

"What? Oh, nothing. I'm fine." Emily tried to assure her mother.

"You're biting your nails. That means something's troubling you." Elizabeth stated.

Emily didn't say anything; she hadn't known Elizabeth was aware of the nail biting.

At Emily's silence, Elizabeth spoke again. "Just because we never had many talks doesn't mean I don't know when you're upset, Em."

Emily bit her lip. She could probably count on one hand the number of times she and her mother had had in depth conversations. Most of them were before her rebellious teenager phase. She sighed; she didn't want to bother her mother with her trivial relationship problems- if you could even call them that.

"You don't have to tell me," Elizabeth said. "But if you want to, I'm listening."

Finally, Emily spoke.

"I um, ran into Aaron Hotchner on my way here…" Emily admitted.

"Where?" Elizabeth asked. She wasn't mad or upset; she figured Emily would run into someone eventually, just maybe not this soon.

"I was at a flower shop. I was gonna surprise you with some for your room. And he was- he was there just staring at me. Like I was a ghost or something." Emily told her mother.

"Well, you _are _supposed to be in London, dear." Elizabeth said.

"I know, I guess I just didn't expect to see him there. He was getting flowers for his girlfriend." Emily continued. Elizabeth nodded.

"Why is that upsetting you, Emily?" The older woman prodded. She may not have been very good at talking to Emily in the past, and maybe she still wasn't great at these mother/daughter talks, but she was determined to try.

Emily huffed. "I don't know." She lied.

Elizabeth gave Emily a look.

"Okay, maybe I do know," Emily retracted her previous statement. "It's kind of stupid, maybe. I shouldn't really be worried about him now. It's not a big deal."

"Emily," her mother said sternly. "I know I'm dealing with my own stuff right now, but that doesn't discredit your feelings or your problems." Elizabeth said.

"He has a girlfriend, mom." Emily said again. "I don't know why I care- we never- we weren't…" Emily didn't know how to explain it. When she and Hotch were close, she never mentioned it to anyone. Why would she? It was nothing, right? Maybe not. She didn't know. They'd never really discussed it, and they hadn't even kissed or had sex or anything. Emily's mind was racing. Maybe she was going insane.

"Emily, you love him." Elizabeth said bluntly.

"What?!" Emily gasped, nearly choking on air. "No, no. No. He was my boss. I wouldn't do that. He wouldn't do that. We were just- good together. As friends." Emily added that last part quickly.

"I won't try to argue with you on that, Em. But speaking from experience, I am telling you to act on your feelings. Whatever they are, even if they're not for Aaron. Don't spend years wondering about the _what ifs_. Don't do what I did." Elizabeth said quietly, glancing down at the carpet.

"George?" Emily guessed.

Elizabeth just nodded.

"After your father and I split up, I was prepared to be single for the rest of my life. After all, a re-marriage might somehow be bad press," Elizabeth rolled her eyes at that, wondering why she had ever let herself get so into her work. "But especially one to someone that _worked _for me. How scandalous." She said dryly. "So George and I just…we stayed friends. He was my very best friend." Elizabeth said gently.

"He still is. You can still see him, you know. There's no law that says you can only have one person visit you." Emily said softly.

Elizabeth shook her head. "This isn't about me. This is about you. I want you to make me another promise." She told her daughter seriously.

Emily nodded.

"Don't put me in the center of everything, Emily. If you meet someone and fall in love, I'll understand. If you'd rather go out on a date than sit with me and watch me read or have some kind of episode, then go out on a date. I just don't want you to be alone, sweetheart." Elizabeth said, moving to sit next to her daughter on the bed. She wrapped an arm around her shoulder and hugged her tightly. She was surprised when she felt Emily lean into her and start to cry.

"Emily, it's okay. I didn't mean to upset you." Elizabeth comforted Emily in a way she couldn't remember doing since Emily was no more than a toddler.

Emily knew what her mother was saying; she understood that Elizabeth was well aware that once she died, Emily would literally be alone. Her father hadn't been a part of her life since the divorce, and it wasn't like Emily had any other family. Emily was reminded once again that her mother was going to die, and she wasn't ready. Maybe crying about it now wasn't very rational; Elizabeth still had more lucid days than not, but for how long? When Elizabeth came to hug Emily, Emily couldn't keep her walls up anymore. Comfort from Elizabeth was just what she needed.

After several minutes, Emily stopped crying. Elizabeth just held Emily close the whole time. When Emily looked up to meet her mother's eyes, only then did she notice Elizabeth had been crying too.

"I promise." Emily whispered softly. "I won't be alone." She said, though she wasn't sure if she was serious about it, or if she was just saying it to appease her mother.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! I meant to get this up so much earlier, but I don't have a really good excuse for not doing so. I'm sorry! This is kind of a filler chapter, because there's some stuff that needs to be addressed before I can really progress any farther, but I hope you're not too disappointed with it! Hopefully I'll have the next part up soon! **

**As always thank you so so so much for your reviews! They always make my day! **

XxxxX

A week later, Emily found herself back in Elizabeth's room, as she did every morning. She arrived as soon as visiting hours began, and she stayed until Elizabeth practically forced her out of the building. Since moving into the nursing home, Elizabeth had only had two more minor episodes. Emily hadn't been there for one of them and felt terrible about it. But since then, Emily's mother had been doing well, her doctor came to the nursing home and adjusted her medication, and Emily could tell it was really helping. She just hoped it would last.

The mother-daughter duo busied themselves by playing cards. For some reason that Emily couldn't quite determine, Elizabeth had been much more quiet and reserved today than she had been being. She wanted to know what was wrong with her mother, but she didn't want to press the issue and possibly make it worse.

Since she saw Hotch at the flower shop, she hadn't seen or spoken to him again. She kept finding herself thinking about him. She wondered what he'd told the team, if he'd told them anything. She wondered if he'd thought about her at all in the last week, and she felt a little ridiculous for it. She kept telling herself to stop thinking about him, to stop wondering about a relationship right now. Her promise to her mother still lingered in the back of her mind, and she knew she would act on it eventually. But she had just assumed it would be later on.

Emily's phone started ringing, breaking the silence in the room. Emily pulled the phone from her pocket and glanced at the screen, Clyde's name flashing across it. She'd ignored his last three calls.

"I have to take this, I'll be right back." Emily said quickly as she left the room and headed for the hallway.

"Prentiss." She answered softly, wondering what the man wanted.

"Emily, why aren't you answering your calls? You didn't tell me you would be unreachable." Clyde said firmly, though he didn't seem angry, not really.

"I'm sorry, I've just been...I've been busy. Is everything okay?" Emily asked.

"It's alright here, it's just that I've got to get back to my job. When should I expect you back?" Clyde asked her. Emily could tell he felt bad for asking, but she had kind of left him hanging.

"Um, well...I- do you think you could...replace me?" Emily asked him, her voice soft, barely above a whisper.

"Replace you?" Clyde repeated. "Emily, you're the best leader Interpol has had. Are you sure you're alright? What do you need?"

Emily sighed. She knew she had to explain to Clyde. It wasn't fair to him.

"My mother's sick. I don't- I can't handle that job right now, Clyde. I love it, but I just- I need to stay here. If I have to, I'll probably go back to the FBI. But for now, I just need to focus on my mom." Emily explained.

"Oh, Em. I'm so sorry. You could have told me." Clyde said gently.

Emily nodded before remembering he couldn't see her. She blinked back tears before answering.

"I know. I'm sorry. She doesn't want anyone knowing, that's all. Just...say I've been called away. Find somebody to replace me. Can you-can you do that?" Emily asked. She always hated admitting she count handle something, but she knew there was no way she could handle finding her replacement now. She couldn't even think beyond the next day, much less running an entire office like that.

"I will. If you need anything, anything at all, please let me know." Clyde said sincerely.

"Okay. Thank you," Emily replied. "For everything." She added.

"Just take care of your mother, Emily." Clyde said as the call ended. Emily put her phone back in her pocket and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed that way, but before long, her mother' voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Emily? Are you alright?" Elizabeth asked softly.

Emily opened her eyes and stood up straighter. "I'm fine." Emily told her.

"No you're not." Elizabeth replied simply.

Emily sighed. She led her mother back into her room, sitting next to her on the bed.

"That was Clyde." Emily said. Elizabeth was familiar enough with him to know who he was, but she'd never personally met him.

"Oh. Is everything okay in London?" Elizabeth asked.

Emily nodded. "He was just…wondering when I was coming back, that's all."

"When _are _you going back? You've already been here more than a week." Elizabeth said simply, as if she'd expected Emily to have gone back to work already.

"What do you mean? It's _only _been a little more than a week. Did you really think I was only going to be here for a few days?" Emily asked.

Elizabeth shrugged. "I just don't want you to put your whole life on hold for me, honey."

"I'm not. Everything at Interpol is being taken care of." Emily assured her mother.

"_Do _you want to go back?" Elizabeth asked.

"No." Emily answered quickly. "I don't want to go back. I- Clyde's replacing me." Emily blurted. It wasn't that she wanted to keep it a secret from Elizabeth, but she knew Elizabeth would feel like it was her fault. And it wasn't.

"Emily," Elizabeth started, but Emily held up a hand, signaling she was going to explain farther.

"The job was great. London was great. I had a nice flat, nice neighbors, and a few friends, even," Emily started. "But…it wasn't home. I missed it here. I missed my friends…family." Emily explained.

"I'm sure if you wanted to, you could get a place back on your old team." Elizabeth said, prepared to do whatever she could to help if she needed to.

"No, Mom. I don't- right now, I don't want to work. I just want to be here." Emily explained. "I have more than enough money saved up to not work for a little while."

"I could be like this for _years_, Em. You can't just come here and hang out with me all day, every day, for that long. You'll get bored. I'll probably get sick of you." She joked with a wink.

Emily had to laugh. "Yeah, I'm sure I'd get sick of you too."

The two of them decided to leave the conversation alone for now, and picked back up on their card came.

After a few minutes of silence, Elizabeth spoke again.

"Do you remember when we did this together? When you were younger?" She asked quietly, as if she was afraid that maybe Emily had forgotten; but that couldn't have been farther from the truth.

Emily nodded, remembering one time in particular.

_November 1981_

Emily was eleven years old and had already been to more schools than most people see in their lifetime. Her family had just moved to Italy, and Emily had been going to her new school for three days. She hated every second of it. It was a huge, expensive, fancy private school. Most of the schools she had attended were private schools, so that's not what bothered her about this school. Usually, Emily just tried to blend in and hope that eventually she would make a friend or two. This normally worked for her, but Emily couldn't really see herself making friends with any of the people at this school.

She knew it had only been three weeks, and that wasn't really enough time to know everyone; but everyone seemed to be mean. On her first day, Emily had gotten made fun of for her American accent. She tried speaking Italian, which she was fluent in already, but she got made fun of for that, too. She couldn't really understand why her classmates made fun of her, everyone had an accent, she thought. She tried to ignore it, hoping that eventually it would all blow over and they wouldn't pick on her any more.

One of her classmates had been asked to show Emily around, but had ditched her and left Emily to fend for herself for the whole day. Luckily, she had a pretty good sense of direction and found her classes eventually, even though she had been late to a couple of them.

Just when Emily thought that people would start to accept her, something else happened. Two weeks ago, some girl in Emily's class had switched Emily's lock for her locker with hers, and Emily couldn't get into her locker for the rest of the day. Most of her textbooks were in there, so she went to every class unprepared. It didn't really matter; she knew a lot of the stuff she was learning anyway, so she tried not to let it bother her that much.

Today, she'd eaten lunch in the hallway outside the cafeteria. She thought that seemed better than trying to find an empty table and watch the older, more popular girls laugh at her for being alone. It happened nearly every day, and Emily was tired of it. She'd known for a while now that she'd never be able to make everyone like her, but she knew that acting the way these kids were acting wasn't the way to get accepted, either.

Emily was kind of used to things like this, she never really associated anything positive with school, but this school just wasn't sitting right with her. She hadn't met a single nice person, not even the teachers. They were extremely strict and seemed to always call Emily out on something, even if she wasn't doing anything wrong. She didn't expect them to be nice to her just because she was new, but she did wish they weren't so quick to single her out, either.

So, here Emily was, lying in her bed at nearly midnight, contemplating on what to do. She thought about just trying to get through the school year and ask if she could change schools over the summer, but that seems so far away. She didn't want to ask her mother now, because she didn't want to make her angry. Who knew sixth grade was so much work?

Emily sighed, knowing that if she didn't at least tell her mother how unhappy she was, she'd just wonder about what would have happened. She rolled out of bed and quietly left her room, and headed down the stairs of their recently renovated Italian home.

The light was still on in Elizabeth's office, which wasn't uncommon. Emily often wondered if her mother ever slept.

Emily took a breath before knocking on the door. Hearing her mother's approval, Emily stepped in.

"Emily? What are you doing? You should be asleep." Elizabeth said as she looked up from her desk to see her daughter standing there, staring at the floor and picking at her nails.

"Can I ask you something?" Emily asked, not looking up to meet her mother's eyes; even though she knew her mother had taught her to look at people when she spoke to them.

"Come here," Elizabeth instructed, sensing something was really bothering her daughter.

Emily slowly walked over to her mother, worried that she might be in trouble for being awake so late. She was surprised when Elizabeth pulled her close to her and put her hands on Emily's shoulders.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked.

"Do you think I could maybe switch schools?" Emily asked quickly, wondering if Elizabeth could eve understand her.

"Switch schools? Why do you want to do that?" Elizabeth asked. Emily hoped she wouldn't ask that.

"I just- I don't like it." Emily settled on saying, looking down at the carpet again.

"Is that the only reason? You didn't like your last school very much either, but then you made some friends." Elizabeth reminded her.

Emily bit her lip. "I know…but, everyone's just so mean." Emily explained the whole situation when Elizabeth asked her to, even telling her mother about eating lunch in the hallway to avoid the laughter and stares.

By the time Emily was done explaining, she was crying. She tried really hard not to, because she didn't want to be annoying, or cause her mother any stress.

Rather than tell Emily to stop crying, or that she was being ridiculous and should just learn to deal with it, Elizabeth pulled Emily into her lap and Emily just leaned into her. Elizabeth held her daughter close and gently stroked her hair. Elizabeth wasn't the most nurturing person. Not because she didn't want to be; but because she just wasn't sure how to be. Emily had never really been a crier, not even when she was a baby, so the ambassador wasn't quite sure what to do, but this seemed to be helping. Elizabeth knew her daughter liked to keep things to herself and handle things on her own, so for Emily to be asking her about this so late into the night told Elizabeth that Emily was truly upset about this. She didn't say anything just yet, knowing Emily just needed her right now.

"It's okay, Emily. You don't have to go back." Elizabeth said finally, a few minutes later after Emily had calmed down a little.

"Really?" Emily asked softly, looking up to face her mother, as if she didn't believe her.

"Really. Why don't you stay here tomorrow and I'll figure out what school to send you to?" Elizabeth offered, glancing at the clock. She knew Emily would be impossible to wake up in the morning at this rate, so she might as well just let her stay home.

"Okay," Emily agreed. "Thank you." She added softly, getting down from Elizabeth's lap.

"Do you want to play cards before you go to sleep?" Elizabeth asked. She had taught Emily to play a few games when they'd been travelling on long flights, but they hadn't played together in quite some time. Elizabeth didn't want to send Emily to bed after being so upset, anyway.

"Sure," Emily agreed with a smile, grabbing Elizabeth's hand and leading her back to her bedroom.

The two of them played cards for nearly an hour before Emily grew too tired to even sit up properly. Elizabeth tucked her daughter in and promised her once more that she would take care of everything, and doing just that.

_Present day_

"You still remember that?" Elizabeth asked once Emily reminded her of that day.

"Of course I do." Emily said. "I know you feel like you haven't been a good mother, but you have been. Any time I've ever needed you, you were there."

Elizabeth sent Emily a small smile. "Except for your funeral." She joked. Emily snorted, she knew her mother had been told not to go, so that if Doyle was actually watching them, he would assume that since Elizabeth didn't attend, that she and Emily weren't close. That way, he wouldn't go after her.

"Yeah, except for that. That's okay, you're just lucky I couldn't haunt you." She quipped.

**Also i just wanted to add that in the flashback scene it said 1984, but that's just because i hit the wrong number, it should be 1981, and i fixed it so it's right! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Happy Easter to all who celebrate! Clearly Easter is kind of a lazy holiday for me because I spent a lot of time writing this today, so I thought I'd go ahead and update : ) Thanks for all your reviews, I love reading them as always! **

XxxxX

Emily continued her routine for two more days: arriving at the nursing home right at 10am and staying as long as she possibly could. There wasn't much else for Emily to do, and she was finding that she was actually enjoying spending time with her mother, not dreading it. Elizabeth continued to do well. They spent mostly everyday together, and Emily would even say she and her mother actually had a good relationship now; something she never imagined herself saying.

In fact, she had almost forgotten Elizabeth was sick.

Almost.

Emily had been back at the house with George for only an hour after spending the day with Elizabeth, when she got a phone call. She immediately recognized the number as that of the nursing home, and answered it quickly.

"Hello?" She answered worriedly. When Emily had left her mother, she had been sleeping. Emily had taken it as a good sign, but was now concerned that something was wrong.

"Ms. Prentiss, I'm so sorry to bother you, I know you just left, but- it's your mother." She heard the voice of one of Elizabeth's nurses say.

"What's wrong?" Emily demanded, not meaning to sound so harsh.

"After you left, your mother woke up. She's- she's not doing very well." The nurse said honestly. Emily couldn't remember this woman's name for the life of her at the moment. Nothing mattered except her mother.

"What do you mean? Just tell me." Emily said, wondering why the nurse kept dancing around the issue like it didn't matter.

"She just doesn't know where she is. She won't listen to us. She's asking for you." She said finally.

"I'll be there in ten minutes." Emily said, hanging up the phone, not caring that the drive normally took twice that time. She quickly explained what was happening to George as she grabbed her keys and practically sprinted out of the house and back to her mother's car. She sped to the nursing home, just hoping a cop didn't stop her.

XxxxxX

Fourteen minutes later, Emily parked her car and flung the door open, slamming it shut behind her and quickly making her way into the nursing home.

Her mother wasn't up in her room, but in the main lobby of the home. There were so many people around her, and Emily knew that had to be making everything worse. She was about to start yelling when she realized they were trying to keep Elizabeth from walking out.

Emily pushed through the nurses and told them to leave her alone. How could they think crowding her like that was making anything better? She wondered.

"Mom. You're okay, I'm here." Emily said gently, putting an arm around her mother and leading her over to the couch.

Nothing could have ever prepared Emily for what happened next.

"Who are you?" Elizabeth asked.

Emily froze, immediately averting her eyes downward so she didn't have to look at her mother. She couldn't let herself falter now, she told herself. She could break down later. She straightened in her seat and faced Elizabeth, hoping she appeared more calm than she felt.

"It's me. It's Emily." Emily managed to choke out. This is what Emily had been afraid of happening, but kept telling herself wouldn't happen. She felt stupid for convincing herself that now.

"No, you're not. My daughter is fifteen. And I would appreciate it you'd let me find her, we have a plane to catch. We have to be home by tomorrow morning so I can attend a meeting. She's being stubborn and apparently hiding." Elizabeth said.

Emily didn't know what to do. How was she supposed to handle this? She'd read about handling these types of scenarios, she'd asked Elizabeth's doctors, but it seemed like every bit of information she'd retained just went right out of her head. She was clueless, and she was sad. She knew this wasn't Elizabeth's fault; but she couldn't help but to feel a bit dejected that she wasn't able to fix this.

The last few times Elizabeth had been like this, the sound of Emily's voice was enough to calm her down. Not bring her out of it completely, but at least enough that she didn't seem so scared and confused. This time, it seemed like Emily's presence was just making it worse.

"Mom. No, I'm right here, it's okay." Emily tried again. Her voice was shaking, she didn't even sound like herself to her own ears.

Elizabeth sighed, moving to get up from the couch. "This is ridiculous. Don't you people have any respect? I am an ambassador for this country; I shouldn't be treated like some kind of criminal! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to look for my daughter and get on that plane, whether she's with me or not." Elizabeth said coldly as she walked away.

Well, that definitely sounded like the "old" Elizabeth Prentiss. Emily thought to herself. She'd often threatened to leave Emily in some foreign country all by herself if she didn't comply with Elizabeth's schedule, but she'd never actually done it. Emily had tested that theory many times as a teenager, sometimes even wishing her mother would just leave her alone. It never happened though, Elizabeth always found her, and then always lectured her afterward.

Emily looked over as Elizabeth wandered around the lobby, asking people if they'd seen a fifteen year old girl anywhere. No one had, of course. Nurses were still standing by the door, in case Elizabeth tried to leave again.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" Emily asked, suddenly angry. There were at least ten people in the room, most of them qualified medical personnel, except for the one who answered the phone and ran the front desk. But even she was going on about her business like everything was normal.

"As long as she's not posing a threat to herself or anyone else, there's not really much we can do." She heard someone say, but she wasn't sure who said it. She was too mad to care.

Emily sighed. She remembered reading that somewhere. She just wanted to make this better.

After she took a moment to calm down and collect herself, she went back over to her mother. Elizabeth had sat back down on the couch and looked highly annoyed.

Emily sat down next to her, hoping she wasn't about to make things worse.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked, refraining from calling her "mom" in case that upset her.

"I'm fine." Elizabeth said.

"Let's go on up to your room, okay?" Emily offered, noting that Elizabeth seemed to have calmed down a little. She wasn't quite sure what her mother was thinking, but she didn't want to ask and possibly confuse her or send her into another round of searching for teenager Emily.

"Maybe Emily will be there." Elizabeth said, as if she hadn't thought to check there yet.

"Yeah," Emily said softly. "Maybe."

She guided Elizabeth up the stairs and into her room. Elizabeth sat down in the chair by the window, a favorite spot of hers.

"Do you want me to stay with you until you feel better?" Emily asked.

"I suppose that would be alright." Elizabeth replied.

Emily smiled a little, feeling pretty proud of herself for at least getting Elizabeth back up to her room.

Elizabeth stared out the window, twirling her hands around, Emily knew she was anxious.

"Why don't you tell me about Emily?" Emily asked. She figured maybe at least this would get Elizabeth talking and hopefully calm her down.

"She's fifteen. We've been in Italy for about four years now. My term here is over, so we're going back to the States. I would like for her to finish high school there, but she tends to go where I go." Elizabeth said. Emily nodded as she continued. Emily remembered leaving Italy. She remembered how they'd left not long after Matthew had helped her, and how she'd felt awful for leaving him there when he'd been so amazing to her when nobody else had been.

To this day, Emily hadn't told Elizabeth about what happened in Italy. She never told her about John, Matthew, the pregnancy, or the abortion. Back then, Emily had just been too scared. As she grew older, she didn't really see the point in bringing it up. What would there be to say?

In that moment, Emily regretted not telling Elizabeth. She knew she should have, she'd thought about it before. But it just never happened. Emily never thought she would run out of time.

"She's...stubborn." Elizabeth said finally. Emily had almost forgotten her mother had been talking, she'd been so lost in her thoughts.

"She can be hard to handle some days, but she's so smart. Probably smarter than me. She picks up on languages easily. She was bilingual by the time she was five." Elizabeth said. Emily nodded again, remembering being taught Spanish by a nanny at a young age. She could speak it as well as she could speak English by kindergarten.

"And she's beautiful." Elizabeth added lastly. "I don't know if she knows that, but she is. I'm sure she thinks I'm horrible because I drag her around the world, and I'm not always the best at...talking to her. But I hope she knows I love her." Elizabeth said.

"She knows." Emily said gently.

Elizabeth just turned her gaze back out the window.

"Do you think she'll come back? You don't think she's run away, do you?" Elizabeth asked, her voice full of concern and worry.

"She'll be back. I'm sure it'll all work out. You've got plenty of time to rest at now. Why don't you?" Emily offered, using every bit of strength she had to force herself not to cry. She blinked the tears filling her eyes away and turned down Elizabeth's bed.

"You're sure?" Elizabeth asked. She still looked worried, but Emily could see the exhaustion in her eyes.

"I'm sure." Emily smiled, assuring Elizabeth.

Elizabeth nodded, and lay down in the bed cautiously.

"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "You're very nice. You kind of look like Emily." She added.

Emily felt the tears prick at her eyes again, but she fought them.

"Do I?" Emily asked. Elizabeth nodded.

"I hope she turns out like you." The older woman commented before settling down in the bed. Sleep took over in a matter of minutes.

Once Elizabeth was asleep, Emily exhaled sharply, as if she'd been holding her breath for that whole time. She felt like she had.

She wanted to stay, in case Elizabeth woke up and needed something, but she knew she couldn't. She wasn't allowed to stay overnight without approval. She was surprised anyone had let her come up here alone since visiting hours were over.

She made sure Elizabeth was definitely asleep before she pulled the blankets up around her mother a little tighter. Gently, she brushed Elizabeth's hair back and whispered a soft goodnight to her, before she shut the light off and left the room silently.

She didn't speak to anyone on her way out. Someone asked her what happened and Emily just quickly explained that her mother was sleeping and could they please not wake her.

She hurried out of the nursing home and got into the car, pulling out her cell phone and calling George. She knew he would be worried and anxious to know that she was okay.

She explained everything, forcing herself to stay calm. Her voice was shaking, but she hoped George didn't notice.

"Emily, are you alright?" George asked.

"I'm fine, she's okay now." Emily said.

"I know she is, but I know this had to be hard on you, too. I just don't want you to shut down and keep this to yourself, Em." The older man said gently. Emily didn't want to bottle it all up, either. For once in her life, she actually wasn't sure she could handle everything on her own.

"I'll be okay. I'm- um, I'm gonna go see someone before I head back. I don't know how long I'll be." She explained.

"Okay, just be careful." He told her.

"Call if you need anything. And thank you." She added.

The phone call ended and Emily took a breath, tossing her phone in the seat beside her and gripping the steering wheel tightly, exhaling loudly.

She leaned her head back against the seat and looked over at her phone. She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. She shouldn't call him. It was a weeknight. Jack was probably most definitely asleep. He had work in the morning.

But she needed to talk to someone. Someone who wouldn't force her to talk about her feelings or pity her or make her feel like she couldn't handle herself. Even if she didn't feel like she could handle this.

Emily picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number.

"Hello?" He answered. She almost hung up, but she remembered he probably already knew it was her since he had her number. Dammit.

"Um- hi. It's Emily." She said awkwardly.

"I know, I saw. Is everything okay?" He asked.

"I know it's kind of late, and I know Jack's probably sleeping and I'm really sorry if I woke him up, and I know you have work and-" she was cut off by that warm, welcoming voice she had grown so used to before she moved; the same voice she didn't realize how much she missed until she heard him speak.

"Jack's actually staying with Jessica tonight, he likes sleepovers at her house on weeknights because she has time to make him pancakes in the morning." Hotch said gently, a hint of a chuckle in his voice. "So don't worry about that. What's wrong?" He pressed.

"Can I meet you somewhere?" Emily asked.

"Just come to my place." Hotch said. "We haven't moved." He added, knowing she knew where he lived.

"Okay." Emily breathed. "Can you talk to me until I get there?" She asked him softly, surprised at how much this short conversation had calmed her.

"Of course." He said. She switched the phone to Bluetooth, and just listened as he talked to her. He didn't question her, he didn't even seem surprise that she was still in DC. None of that seemed to matter to him, and for that, in this moment, Emily was grateful.


	8. Chapter 8

**I can't believe this story has already hit 50 reviews! I'm so glad you're all enjoying it : ) I could never say thank you enough! **

XxxxX

Emily pulled into the apartment complex parking lot and found a place to park her car easily. She had ended her conversation with Hotch just a few moments prior, telling him that she was almost there. He had talked to her as she drove, his voice sounding smooth and calming and wonderful in her ears. She wasn't even sure what he was telling her. Probably things about Jack, and about the team. She just kept making small noises confirming that she was listening from time to time, the sound of his voice enough on keep her focused on driving.

While they talked, Hotch didn't press her to tell her what was wrong. He didn't seem mad that she'd obviously lied about why she was here. He was just such a good person, a good friend.

Emily made a move to open her car door, but stopped herself. What was she doing? He was always so...so together. Sure, she'd seen him at his weakest after Foyet, but even then he'd had a certain kind of calmness about him. Right now, Emily was a mess. She was going to be a mess for quite some time. Hotch had Jack to worry about, the little boy's needs and his happiness should always,_ always_ come first. He also had a demanding job that left him hardly any free time. She shouldn't take up that time with her problems. She could handle them alone. She always did. She was fine.

That's what she tried to tell herself, anyway, as she wiped tears away from her eyes, furiously rubbing at them to try and make the tears stop.

She was just about to start the car and drive away when her phone rang. She should've ignored it, but before she could tell herself that, she had answered it.

"Hi," she said weakly, though she tried not to sound it.

"Are you alright? You said you were almost here." His voice rang through the phone, so steady, but she could hear a tinge of worry.

Emily bit her lip. "Yeah, I'm just- sitting in your parking lot." She whispered meekly, she wasn't really embarrassed about it, but she was seriously hating herself for bothering him.

"Aren't you going to come in?" He asked.

"No." She said quickly. Realizing how that sounded, she spoke hastily. "I mean...I just...I don't want to bother you. I can go home. I'm fine." She said, placing her hand on the key to start the ignition.

As if he could see her, he spoke. "No, stop. Come up here, please? You're not fine. You're not bothering me. Please, Emily. Let me help you." He was practically begging her. Emily knew Aaron Hotchner did not beg, so she knew he wasn't going to take no for an answer. If she left now, he'd probably have the whole FBI following her in seconds. She almost cracked a smile at that thought.

"Okay." She whispered. "Okay." She slowly pulled the key out of the ignition and pocketed it, opening the door and stepping out into the chilly Spring night.

"Do you want me to stay on while you walk up here?" He offered sweetly.

"That's okay. I'll see you soon." She said as she hung up before he had the chance to argue. She took a sharp breath, feeling the cool night air fill her lungs. She put her phone in her back pocket, and headed toward the door. Her feet led her to Hotch's apartment door, as if they were on autopilot.

Gently, she knocked on the door. She bit her nails as she waited for him to come to the door. It opened almost immediately, and she knew he'd been waiting right by the door since she called.

She blinked back tears, looking at him, taking him in. He had on dark grey sweatpants and a light blue tshirt. He'd been ready to go to bed and she'd interrupted him. She looked down, feeling guilty. It was irrational, but she felt overdressed in her dark jeans and pine green sweater she had been wearing all day.

He didn't even speak to her; he pulled her inside the apartment gently and guided her to his couch. They sat sideways, facing each other. Two glasses of red wine sat on the coffee table in front of them. Ordinarily, she would have welcomed the stuff without question, but tonight she couldn't bear the thought of putting anything at all into her stomach. She was pretty sure it wouldn't stay there long.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hotch asked softly. He was never one to press her. He had known that if she wanted to talk, she would. If she didn't, you'd never get anything out if her. Emily was busying herself by pulling her long dark hair back into a ponytail.

"I lied," She said quietly, her voice timid and childlike and very much unlike Emily. "About why I'm here." She added.

"Are you okay? I mean, you're not in trouble or anything, right?" He asked. She shook her head, pulling the sleeves of her sweater down over her hands, staring at them intently to give herself something to distract her.

"It's- it's my mom." Emily said finally. "I'm not...supposed to say anything."

"You don't have to tell me, Emily. But if you do, I won't tell anyone." He assured her.

She swallowed thickly, her mouth suddenly dry. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't tell him. She shouldn't break her promise to her mother.

"She's really sick..." Emily said, her voice so much unlike her own that it startled her.

"Oh, Emily." Hotch said softly. "I'm so sorry." He tried to pull her closer and hug her, but she backed away. Not because she didn't want it, but because she knew as soon as she touched him she was going to completely fall apart. And she wasn't ready for that.

"She doesn't want me to tell anybody. But I'm here; I'm taking care of her. It's all alright. I shouldn't have come here-" she said, moving to stand as she spoke but a strong, gentle tug brought her back down to her seat next to Hotch.

"It's okay, Emily. I'm here." He told her. She looked at him, his features blurred by the tears brimming in her eyes. She rapidly blinked them back. She knew she could trust him, she knew that with every part of her. So, she took a breath, and finally told him everything. She told him about the diagnosis, about Elizabeth's new living arrangements, about what had happened that night. By the time she was done talking, the tears had started to fall again despite Emily's many efforts to keep them at bay. She furiously wiped them away.

"I'm just- I'm so scared. I don't know how to do this. I don't want my mom to _die_, Aaron." She said, her voice cracking and breaking. She wasn't even sure when she had started calling him Aaron rather than Hotch, and she was always so careful to never do it around the team, because they might get the idea that she and Hotch were together. His name felt so familiar, yet she felt like she hadn't said it in years.

She knew she wasn't going to be able to take this much longer. She blinked several times before she made herself look up and into Hotch's deep brown eyes. They were full of apprehension, he was looking at her like she was breakable and was going to shatter to pieces at any second.

Normally, she would have hated that. She would've told him to go away and she would've been so angry that he assumed she couldn't take care of herself. But not tonight. She forced herself to look away, down at her feet.

"I'm so sorry, Emily." Hotch said seriously. He took her hands in his larger ones and Emily fought back even more tears. He stroked his thumb gently across the top of her hand. She couldn't take it anymore. Her lungs felt like they were going to explode. Her heart was racing at an unfathomable speed. She couldn't stop shaking. Her body felt hot and cold all at the same time. She couldn't breathe.

She practically flung herself into Hotch's arms. He didn't even seem surprised. He hugged her closely to him, the warmth of his body feeling so strong and perfect to her own shaking body. She cried. She finally gave in and let herself truly cry since she had out about Elizabeth's diagnosis. She had shed some tears since she had been back in DC, but she hadn't let herself breakdown. She hated doing it, she hated crying. But she knew that she wasn't going to be able to breathe properly again until she did.

So she let Hotch hold her close. She let herself cry into his shoulder. She let him pet her hair and whisper encouraging words in her ears and tell her that it was all going to be okay.

Finally, she felt like she could breathe again. Her eyes stung, her head hurt, and she had left a giant tear-stained spot on Hotch's shirt, she realized as she finally sat up to face him.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Don't be. You know, I knew when we ran into each other that something was…off, about you. But I didn't think it was anything like this. I wish I knew how to help you." Hotch rambled.

"You are," Emily said gently. "Helping."

"I know you promised your mother you wouldn't tell anyone, but I'm glad you told me. I won't say anything." He assured her.

"I know you won't." Emily replied.

"You look exhausted, Em." Hotch said after a beat or two of silence. "Have you been sleeping?"

She didn't even have to answer; they both knew the answer to that.

"Why don't you stay here?" He offered. It wouldn't be the first time they had stayed a night together, of course they had never done more than actually sleep; but somehow Emily felt it would be wrong to accept that offer.

"No, I- I shouldn't." She said softly. "I'll just go. Thank you for- for everything." She said, feeling her face grow warm. She wasn't sure why.

"Seriously, Em. You're welcome to stay the night." He told her, and she knew he was serious.

"Okay." Emily finally agreed. "I'll stay." Hotch smiled, and the sight was almost enough to make her return the gesture. But she didn't. He moved from the couch and disappeared toward the back of the apartment. She took the time by herself to text George and tell him not to wait up for her, that she was staying with a friend and would come home in the morning, so he wouldn't worry. She felt bad leaving him all alone, but she couldn't really bear the thought of heading home to cry by herself all night for what felt like the hundredth night in a row.

He returned seconds later with a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt for Emily. She took them from him tentatively. Was this actually happening? It was as if Doyle never happened, like she'd never been away; like she hadn't taken the Interpol job. She knew she would probably spend the better part of the next day analyzing this over and over, but right now, she really didn't care.

"Why don't you go put those on? I'll put on a movie or something and we can just sit out here for a bit." Hotch suggested.

Emily nodded. "Thank you." She said gratefully as she dashed into the bathroom and changed her clothes, happy to be in something much more comfortable. When she emerged back into the living room, she found Hotch putting a blanket at the end of the couch, the wine that had been sitting there previously was replaced with two bottles of water, and a stack of DVDs sat on the table.

"You're amazing." Emily breathed, not even sure if he heard her or not. He sat down on the couch; she crossed the room to do the same.

"I just set out some movies, but you can pick whatever you want." He told her.

She looked at the stack in front of her. She really didn't feel like watching anything, but she knew if they didn't watch a movie, they would start talking. She'd had enough talking for one day, so she picked up _The Breakfast Club _and put it into the DVD player.

As the movie started, she sat back down on the couch and pulled the blanket at the foot of the couch up over her.

XxxxxX

Hotch woke early, a habit he had picked up long before he had ever worked for the FBI. He groaned his body stiff from sleeping on the couch all night. When did he fall asleep? Why was he on the couch? Why couldn't he move? Oh. He remembered. _Oh._

He glanced down, the warmth he was feeling not from a blanket, but from another human body. Emily was still fast asleep on top of him. He didn't want to move her and risk waking her, but he knew if he didn't get up and stretch his aching muscles soon, he was probably going to regret it.

Slowly, he managed to maneuver himself out from under Emily. She had barely moved, and he wondered when the last time she had truly slept had been. He gently situated a pillow under Emily's head and pulled the blanket tightly around her. She looked so peaceful, the stress that had been on her face was no longer there. He could only hope that talking to him and finally getting a good night's sleep was going to be beneficial to her. He wished there was more he could do, but he didn't have any experience in handling this kind of situation.

He moved into the kitchen, where he was just about to call Jack before Jessica dropped him off at school. Before he could, he heard a light knock at the door.

He sat his phone down on the counter and quietly headed for the door, glancing over at Emily who hadn't even stirred.

He opened the door to reveal a smiling, cheerful Beth. She had two coffees in her hands. _Well shit._ Hotch thought. Of all mornings she would decide to surprise him, it had to be this morning. He was going to have one hell of a time trying to explain this.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you so much for all your kind words! I know a lot of people really don't like Beth, but I have to say I actually like her. Because of that, I didn't want to portray her as the selfish, jealous girlfriend type. However, you can trust I won't be keeping her around for much longer. I hope you guys like this next part! : ) **

XxxxX

"Um..." Hotch said awkwardly, not exactly sure what to do. He knew he had nothing to apologize for, he'd just been helping a friend. However, even he could admit how this situation would look to anyone else, especially to a girlfriend.

Beth glanced behind Hotch, sensing his tension. She could barely make out someone else on Hotch's couch. Someone who was wearing his clothes. Someone that wasn't her.

"Aaron?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Let's talk in my room." He said softly, heading back towards his bedroom and motioning for her to follow.

Grudgingly, she did. Hotch closed his bedroom door.

"I know how this looks, Beth. Trust me, but I can promise you that there's absolutely nothing you need to worry about. Emily is my friend, and she's going through a really hard time right now. I didn't want her to be alone last night, so she stayed here. It's no big deal." He told Beth firmly, honestly. She didn't really look all that angry with him, just very confused and maybe a little hurt.

"Emily? Didn't she move to London?" Beth asked. She and Emily had met a few times. They got along well, and Beth was actually sad to see her go; but she had to wonder how the woman ended up on Hotch's couch in the middle of the week.

"Yes, but she's here for personal reasons. I think I'm the only person who knows why she's here besides her family, so I don't think I should tell you. But I was just helping her." Hotch said.

"I trust you." Beth said with a smile.

Hotch smiled back. "Thank you. Thank you for the coffee and for coming over, I know it had to be hard to get away from New York on a week day." He said as he kissed her gently.

"I'm here until Sunday, actually." She said.

"Oh, good. We have lots of time then." Hotch said awkwardly.

"Hey, where's Jack?" Beth asked after an uncomfortable silence.

"Oh, he stayed with his aunt last night. I'm going to pick him up this afternoon." Hotch said.

"Well, make sure to tell him I missed him this morning. I'm just gonna head back to my hotel...call me later?" Beth asked. Both she and Hotch knew her plan had been to stay with him, though neither had discussed it. But Beth knew he needed to deal with Emily right now, and so she decided to give them some space.

"I'll um, I'll see you later." Beth said as they kissed again, lightly, before she quickly headed out the door.

When Hotch headed back into the living room, he found Emily lying on the couch still, but he could tell she wasn't asleep. She was just pretending.

"Emily?" Hotch said gently.

She sighed and sat up quickly, putting her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry." Emily said softly.

"No, Emily. It's fine. She understood. I didn't even know she was coming." Hotch assured her, absentmindedly wrapping an arm around her.

"You didn't tell her anything, did you?" Emily asked. Not that she thought Beth would tell anyone if she knew the truth behind Emily's return, but she just wasn't ready for anyone else to know. She wasn't ready for everyone's pity. They shouldn't feel sorry for _her_. She was just doing what any good daughter would do, and at the end of the day, Emily wasn't the sick one. Elizabeth was.

"No, I didn't. I just told her it was personal. She really seemed to understand." Hotch said softly, and Emily knew he was right.

"She's really good for you." Emily commented. She wasn't jealous or bitter, she was happy for him. Because God knows, if anyone deserved a happy ending, it was Aaron Hotchner. Beth was caring, understanding, and she was so good with Jack. Suddenly, Emily felt terrible for reaching out to Hotch. He had a life, he had work, and he had a _girlfriend. _Emily wasn't looking to be that for Hotch, but she didn't want to do anything to jeopardize their relationship. That's the absolute last thing she wanted to do.

Emily sat up a little straighter. "I'm gonna go…so I can see my mom." She said quickly, rising from the couch and collecting her clothes she had worn the previous day from their place on the floor, where they sat folded. She rushed into the bathroom and dressed quickly, brushing her hair out with her fingers and tossing it up out of her face.

She looked at herself in the mirror. She was paler than normal, the dark circles under eyes somehow managed to be even darker today, despite her full night's sleep. Emily sighed, splashing some water on her face and mentally reminding herself to put on some concealer before she visited with her mother. She didn't want Elizabeth to notice and start to worry; she just wanted her mother to focus on herself, on feeling comfortable and content.

Deciding she couldn't avoid Hotch any longer, she stepped back out into the apartment, where Hotch was waiting for her on the couch.

"You don't have to go, Emily." Hotch said as she reached for the door.

She turned around, only to find that he was standing right behind her.

"I do. You have to get to work, anyway. But thank you, Aaron." She said sincerely. "For everything." She sent him a weak smile.

He hugged her tightly, and she tensed at his touch. He let her go, and she slipped out the door and all but ran down to her car.

XxxxX

Once she reached her car and got into the driver's seat, the brunette ran her hands over her face, feeling drained. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep. She knew she couldn't. She started the car and backed out of her parking space. She drove carefully back to her mother's house. It was still early when she got there, so she quietly unlocked the door with her key and reset the alarm before it went off and woke George.

To Emily's surprise, the older man was already awake in sitting at the counter in the kitchen. There was a mug of coffee in front of him, but Emily could tell he hadn't touched it. The mug was filled, but there wasn't any steam rising from it.

"Hey," Emily said quietly as she entered the kitchen, so as not to startle him.

"Hey," He returned the greeting. "Are you alright?" He asked. Emily moved to sit next to him. He didn't ask where she had been all night, he didn't ask who she went to see or why she decided not to come home. Emily was grateful for that. Not that spending the night with Hotch was supposed to be a big secret, but she didn't really feel like disclosing all that information just yet. She was still trying to process it all herself.

Emily bit her lip. She hadn't told George the details of what happened. Suddenly, Emily felt awful. George really cared about Elizabeth, and while Emily had taken the time to let him know that Elizabeth was okay, she hadn't told him what had been wrong in the first place. She should have, and now she really regretted it.

"I'm fine." She lied. She wasn't fine. She was better than she had been, but she wasn't fine. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you more about last night. You don't deserve that." Emily said as she took his hand in hers.

"I'm just glad she's okay." He said honestly, sending a soft smile Emily's way.

Emily took a breath, not really wanting to relive what happened, but knowing George needed to know.

"She…she didn't recognize me." Emily started explained She told him everything, just as she told it to Hotch. This time, though, she didn't end her story in tears. She had to be strong now, for him; and for herself.

"Oh, Emily. I'm so sorry." George said.

"I- I didn't think- I didn't realize how serious it was…" Emily struggled to find the words.

She remembered having this conversation before, but it really seemed to hit Emily now. This was going to be her life. Elizabeth didn't have a virus that was going to go away. She wasn't going to get any better; she wasn't going to be cured.

"We should have told you sooner," George said sincerely. "But truthfully, I didn't catch on as quickly as I should have. At first it was just little things, you know? Like forgetting a name, a date, the word for something. We'd joke about how hold she was getting, though she's only a few months older than me. I just- I thought it was normal, you know?" George ran his finger along the top of his coffee mug, distracting himself.

"Don't blame yourself." Emily said forcefully, but gently. "That's not what I meant, it's not your fault that I didn't know until it was practically too late. It's mine. I never called, I barely e-mailed or texted…I just- I always assumed she'd be…around." Emily said finally, not brave enough to let herself say what she was truly thinking, that Elizabeth would always be _alive. _

"You're a busy person, Em. No one faults you for your successes, and especially not your mother." George disclosed. He got up and poured the coffee down the sink, setting the mug down to wash later. He sat back down next to Emily, wondering if she'd heard him.

"Really?" Emily asked after a moment.

"Of course, she always talked about you. After you took that fancy Interpol job she told all her friends and mentioned it at every function we attended. She was really proud of you." George said with a smile.

Elizabeth had never really seemed to take much notice in what Emily did for a career. She always made sure to mention how dangerous it was, and how she should always be careful. Emily had never been one to seek out approval from anyone, but especially not from her mother. So she never expected Elizabeth to outright say _I'm proud of you_. But now that Emily thought about it, she kind of wished she had heard it for herself.

She smiled. "I didn't know." She admitted, the smile falling from her face almost as immediately as it appeared.

"I'm sorry," George said. "But at least now you do."

Emily nodded. "That's true. I'm glad you told me." She glanced at the clock, noting it was much later than she thought it was.

"I'm going to go get ready and go see Mom." Emily explained as she rose from her chair. "Would you- would you like to come?" She asked. Elizabeth had said, several times, that the only person allowed to visit was Emily; but Emily just knew that her mother would be happy to see her old friend.

"I'd better not, I don't want to upset her." George said.

"Are you sure? I don't think you would upset her." Emily assured the man.

"It's okay, maybe another time. You go, though. I'll see you later." He replied sweetly.

Emily hugged him tightly. She hadn't ever been very close to the man, but over the past couple of weeks, he had been such a help for Emily. He was always willing to listen to her, eat dinner with her, or just sit in a comfortable silence with her. She was so glad he was here.

"I'll talk to her today, okay? She'll come around." Emily said as she pulled away.

George just nodded in response, and Emily headed up the stairs to get out of her day-old clothes and get herself ready for the day. She could only hope it would be better than the previous day.


	10. Chapter 10

**I really wanted to get this up earlier, but of course school always gets in the way. I know several of you asked me for Elizabeth/George interaction and some more member of our favorite team. I **_**promise **_**you guys won't be disappointed! The much requested Elizabeth/George scenes are on the way. The end of this chapter features an ever curious Rossi, and I definitely plan to include everyone else. I hope no one is disappointed and you stick with me to the end! **

XxxxxX

Two weeks. It had been two whole weeks since Emily had reached out to Hotch and spent the night at his apartment. Emily hadn't called him back, though he'd called her several times. She didn't even bother reading the texts he sent.

She didn't want to burden him, as juvenile as it sounded. Clearly he cared. Clearly he wanted to be there for her; but she just couldn't bring herself to talk to him. She was always more open with him. It's like he was her safe place, the one she could always go to. And she knew that she had been that for him, could still be that for him.

Maybe in another life, maybe if she didn't run away when she felt like she couldn't handle the situation. Try as she might to not put the blame on herself, how could she not? _She _had been the one to put the distance between them three years ago. _She _was the one doing that same thing right now.

"Emily?" She heard the sound of her mother's voice, pulling her out of her thoughts.

She glanced away from the window she had been intently staring out of and met Elizabeth's eyes. Today was a really good day for her mother, and instead of embracing it, she was worrying about herself.

"Em, are you okay? You seem...different lately." Elizabeth commented.

Emily was pretty sure Elizabeth knew nothing about what had happened two weeks ago. And if she did, she wasn't going to bring it up. Neither was Emily. The last thing she wanted was to make Elizabeth feel worse or at fault.

Emily just nodded. "What were you saying?" She asked, eager to put her mind elsewhere.

"You were asking me why I haven't allowed anyone else to come see me, but then you just kind of stopped listening to me." Elizabeth said.

"Because your reasoning doesn't make any sense, Mother." Emily snapped, sounding much harsher than she meant to.

Elizabeth flinched a little at Emily's tone, but her tone never faltered.

"I can't expect you to try and understand this…understand _me. _I have to ask what day it is, what _year _it is every single morning when I wake up and am having a 'good day.'" She spat the term resentfully. "Sometimes I'll have gone two days in some kind of weird state where I think I'm still an active ambassador, but I don't know it. I don't know what I do, I don't know what I say, and I don't even know whether you show up or not. It's terrifying, Emily. I can't- I can't let people see me that way." Emily's face softened, she hadn't meant to upset her mother like this. It was true, some days Emily came to visit and found Elizabeth sitting at her desk in her room, writing something in a notebook with her glasses low on her nose; just like she used to wear them.

No matter what Emily did on those days, Elizabeth would send her away. Sometimes, she recognized Emily, but thought she was a child or a teenager. Sometimes, she didn't recognize Emily at all. It had only been a few weeks since Emily had come back to DC, but already it felt like a lifetime had passed.

Emily moved from her place at the foot of the bed and sat next to Elizabeth, sitting propped up on the pillows. The two sat there embracing each other for a few minutes, neither of them saying anything.

"I can't let _George _see me that way." Elizabeth whispered finally.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I just…he's been so helpful, and he doesn't push me for information about what's happening, and I don't always tell him. He really cares about you. You know that, don't you?" Emily asked.

Elizabeth nodded. "I do know that. I'm just not ready. Not now."

Emily nodded in understanding.

"What about you, Em? What's on your mind?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm fine." Emily assured her mother, sitting up a little straighter; though she wasn't being very convincing.

"You're not." Elizabeth pressed.

"Yeah, well, neither are you." She regretted the words as soon as she said them. She bit her lip and reached out to grab Elizabeth's hand.

"I didn't-I didn't mean that...I just- I meant that...that I think you should let other people visit you. Let George visit you." Emily said, although that wasn't the truth. Not the whole truth.

Elizabeth sighed, the only response Emily got. Emily felt terrible; she hadn't meant to let her own personal problems interfere with taking care of her mother.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I really didn't mean to upset you." Emily said gently.

Elizabeth found Emily's eyes; the ones that mirrored her own. "I know you didn't. I know you handle things by pretending you're not worried about them when you actually are. You've always been that way. I never called you out on it when you were younger, maybe I should have. But I'm here now. You can tell me, darling." Elizabeth said, her voice even and calm. Emily had rarely ever heard her talk like that.

"It's just…an old friend of mine. That's all." Emily managed to say.

Elizabeth just looked at Emily, wordlessly begging her to say more.

Emily blew out a breath. "You remember Aaron Hotchner, right?" Emily asked tentatively, worried that she may not remember and grow frustrated; which happened all too often.

"I think so. That was…a long time ago." Elizabeth's brow furrowed.

"It was, it's okay." Emily squeezed Elizabeth's hand. "I um- well, he's my friend; but we haven't been very friendly lately. And a couple of weeks ago I- I went to his house. And I stayed the night. We didn't- uh," Emily trailed off. "I just slept on his couch." She added quickly. _In his arms. In his clothes. _She left that part out. "And the next morning his girlfriend showed up."

"Oh, Emily." Elizabeth said.

"It's okay, she said she understood. But…but I just feel like I intruded." Emily admitted.

"Have you spoken to Aaron about this?" Elizabeth asked.

Emily shook her head. "I haven't…talked to him at all, actually. Not since that night."

"Well, why on Earth not? Don't you think it would be better to actually know what's going on in his head instead of sitting here worrying?" Elizabeth asked bluntly.

"I don't know." Emily said quietly.

"There's more, isn't there?" Elizabeth prodded gently.

Lately, Emily had welcomed it greatly when Elizabeth acted on those "motherly instincts," but right now she kind of wished her mother would go back to not talking to Emily about her personal life.

However, once Emily opened her mouth, it seemed like she couldn't stop talking.

"I keep telling myself that I don't want to interfere with his life. I mean, he has a really demanding job. He has a son, a son that needs every spare moment he can get with his dad. _And _he has a girlfriend. A pretty serious one, at that. So, I shouldn't _want _to stay the night with him again. I shouldn't practically _depend _on him to make me feel better. Especially not when he has this whole other life he's living." Emily rambled.

"A life without you in it." Elizabeth offered.

"No, _no_." Emily said quickly. "That's not what I mean. We're just- we've always been friends. Good friends."

"Em, I may be old, and my brain function may be deteriorating or whatever, but I _know _what I see in you right now. Because when I look at you, right now, like this- I just see myself." Elizabeth said.

Emily raised a brow, and Elizabeth continued.

"You want to be strong. You don't want anybody to see you when you're weak. I bet you've never taken a sick day in your whole life, even when you were a step away from your death bed. Am I right?" Elizabeth asked, Emily nodded even though it was rhetorical.

"You've found someone you trust. Somebody that you are okay with seeing you break a little. You can't let him get away, Emily." Elizabeth said. "You can't. You need to call him. Text him. Send a letter via carrier pigeon if you have to."

Emily let out a tiny laugh through her blurry tear-filled vision.

"Let's make a deal, okay?" Emily offered, blinking back the tears and hoping her voice didn't crack.

Elizabeth nodded.

"I'll talk to Aaron if you talk to George." Emily said, her voice full of determination.

"Okay," Elizabeth agreed, suddenly pulling Emily into a hug. "Okay." She said again. Emily didn't say anything, she just returned the hug and didn't let go.

XxxxxxxxX

Hotch heard the door to his office creep open. He didn't bother looking up from the paperwork he had thrown himself into. He didn't need to, to know that none other than David Rossi had entered the room. No one else would wear leather shoes _that _expensive.

"Aaron, what are you still doing here?" He heard the man ask as he sat himself down in the chair in front of Hotch's desk. Hotch glanced at the clock on the wall, it was after 6. Hotch had been here way later than that in the past, but lately he'd been trying to leave by 5:30, to get home to Jack and to see him off to bed.

"I'm leaving in a few minutes, Dave." Hotch replied, not bothering to look up and face his friend yet.

"What's going on with you?" The older man questioned. He wasn't accusing or patronizing, just genuinely concerned. He had noticed Hotch seemed a bit off the past couple of weeks. He wasn't himself. He was quieter; he was more serious than normal. He was always checking his phone.

"What? Nothing." Hotch said quickly, a little _too _quickly.

Rossi reached over and grabbed Hotch's pen out of hi hand, forcing Hotch to finally look up at him.

"Is Jack okay?" Rossi asked.

"Jack's great." Aaron said honestly.

"Are you and Beth okay?" Rossi pressed.

Hotch and Beth had spent the rest of her stay in DC together two weeks ago. They ate dinner together every night, most nights with Jack; but they had managed to slip away together for one night before she left. They took Jack to the zoo one day. It had been great, and Hotch had been mostly happy.

Mostly.

He couldn't stop thinking about Emily. She wouldn't talk to him in any capacity. He wondered if she was okay, if she was still hurting. Not knowing was driving him insane.

And truthfully, after spending time with her, he realized how much he missed her.

The brunette was on his mind practically every waking moment of every day, and he couldn't figure out why. Of course he cared for her; of course he wanted her to be okay. But this was different. He was well aware that she was perfectly capable of handling herself. He knew, quite well, that she would come to him when she needed someone to listen to her. He knew there was no way in Hell she was going to be coerced into talking, or to accepting comfort when she didn't think she needed it.

But for whatever reason, he couldn't shake this desire to hold her close and make everything in her world right again.

Of course, he wasn't about to relay all this to the man sitting across from him.

"We're doing great too, actually." Hotch replied finally.

"Are you sick or something?" Rossi continued, determined to get the answer out of this stubborn, stubborn man.

Hotch had to crack a small smile at the man's insistence.

"No, Dave. I'm not sick. Healthy as a horse." He said.

"Then what's been going on? You keep checking your phone like it's some kind of lifeline." Rossi said.

"It's just- a friend, Dave. A friend of mine is having some…some personal struggles and I'm trying to help this friend out. It's alright." He reassured Rossi.

"Is this friend someone I know?" Dave wondered.

"Couldn't tell ya," Hotch said coolly, really wanting to disclose more information and maybe get some kind of advice. But he couldn't do that to Emily, he couldn't do anything to cause a rift in the trust she'd placed in him.

As fate would have it, his phone began to vibrate on his desk.

Emily's name flashing across the screen.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello again! This chapter is a lot longer than what I normally post, but I figured you would all be okay with that ;). As promised, the last half of this chapter is dedicated to Elizabeth and George, please let me know all your thoughts on that! Thank you, as always, for the amazing reviews and favorites and follows! It makes me want to write this story to the absolute best of my ability, so thank you! **

XxxxxX

Hotch grabbed the phone quickly, hoping Dave hadn't seen the name flashing across the screen.

Without even being asked, Dave swiftly got up and left the office, a smirk spreading across his face the whole time. Hotch shook his head, knowing he was going to have some serious explaining to do.

With Rossi out of the room, Hotch answered the phone and brought it to his ear.

"Emily?" He answered, trying not to sound too worried.

"_Um, hi._" She said quietly, he could tell without even seeing her that she was chewing on her lip like it was a lifeline.

"Hey yourself." He replied. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"_Yeah…I'm okay…I just, well, I felt bad because I haven't talked to you in a couple of weeks. That's not fair, you were there for me when I needed you and I thanked you by ignoring you. I'm sorry._" Emily said shakily.

"I knew you would talk to me when you were ready." Hotch told her sincerely. After working with her for so long, after knowing her for so many years, he felt like he knew her quite well. He knew that no matter how badly you wanted to help Emily Prentiss, she was not going to accept it until she was ready. If she was ready now, he was more than ready to help.

"_I know it's a weeknight and you're going to be with Jack, and I don't want to get in the way of that tonight; but maybe this weekend we could meet up again?_" She asked, he could tell that it had taken a lot for her to finally give in ad call him.

"You know, Jack's actually been asking me about you a lot lately. He'd really like to see you. I'm just about to head to Jessica's to pick him up. Why don't you come with me? You can come over and after Jack goes to bed, we can talk." Hotch offered. He wasn't exaggerating about Jack asking about the brunette woman, one day Jack had asked who his father kept texting. Not wanting to lie to his son, Hotch told the truth: that he was talking to Emily. At that, Jack had immediately asked to see her, but Hotch knew that wouldn't happen until he and Emily spoke again. He didn't want her to feel like he was using his son as a pawn to get her to talk to him, because he would never do that; so he told Jack that she was very busy but that he would try to get the two of them together very soon. That had appeased Jack for a bit, but he had started asking to see Emily again. This seemed like the perfect time to bring it up.

"_I'd love to see Jack, but are you sure you wouldn't mind? It's pretty short notice. I don't want to impose on anything." _Emily said honestly.

"I'm sure by now Jessica's already given him dinner, and he always does his homework as soon as he gets home, so it'd be a pretty leisurely night tonight for us. We'd really love to have you, Emily." Hotch encouraged. _I would really love to have you. _

"_Um, okay. Yeah, I'll be there._" Emily finally agreed. He could almost hear the smile in her voice, it made him smile too.

"Where are you staying? I'll just swing by and pick you up. Jack will be so surprised to see you." Hotch told her.

"_I'm staying at my mother's house._" Emily told him.

"Is it- is it the same one you guys lived in when I worked for your mother?" Hotch asked. He remembered exactly where it was. He also remembered exactly where he was and what he was doing the very first time he had seen the Ambassador's daughter. That felt like a completely different life, yet somehow he hadn't forgotten that. He wondered if she remembered that day at all, too.

"_It's the same one. You actually remember where it is?_" Emily asked, a bit in disbelief.

"I do, I'll be there soon, okay? I'm heading out now." Hotch told her.

"_Okay, I'll see you soon._" Emily said as she disconnected the call.

Hotch rose, neatly placing the unfinished paperwork in a desk drawer, and collecting a couple of completed files he was going to drop off to the director. He pocketed his phone and headed out of his office, making sure to lock it behind him on the way out.

He bounded down the stairs quietly, though the building was practically empty by now.

Hotch wondered for a brief moment where Rossi had wandered off to, but he was glad the man seemed to have gone home for the night. That was certainly an interrogation he didn't need right now. Quickly, he dropped the files in the director's office and headed out to his car to make his way to Emily's.

XxxxxxxX

Emily was pacing around the sitting room, biting at her already non-existent nails. She was mentally berating herself for being so nervous. It was just Hotch, she was just going to see Jack. However, once Jack went to bed, Emily knew Hotch was going to want to talk. She had no idea what she was going to say to him. She had only called tonight because she'd promised her mother, and she didn't want to break that.

Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door. She jumped, not realizing how much time had passed. She headed to the door and let Hotch in with a welcoming smile.

"Let me just go upstairs and get my jacket, and I'll be right back." Emily said as she hurried up the stairs and into her bedroom. She grabbed her favorite red, fleece jacket that didn't really match everything; but that she wore all the time regardless because she loved it so much. Emily ducked into George's room and let him know she was headed out, but would be back late tonight.

She bounded back down the stairs, pulling her jacket on as she approached Hotch.

"Ready?" He asked. She nodded, and they headed out to Hotch's car and to Jessica's.

XxxxX

Emily opted to sit out in the car while Hotch went in to get Jack; she was anxiously sitting in the passenger seat and biting her nails again.

She had to smile when she glanced up and saw Jack racing toward the car, a giant smile plastered on his face.

She opened the car door and got out, to greet the eight-year-old. He plowed into Emily at full speed, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her tight.

"Hey, buddy." Emily greeted him warmly, hugging him back. She gently pulled him away so she could bend down to his height. "Good lord, you're getting so tall!" Emily commented. Neither Jack nor Emily noticed Hotch walking up on the scene, smiling from ear to ear at the two of them.

Jack laughed and hugged her again. "I missed you, Emily!"

"I missed you too, Jack." She told the boy sincerely, running her palm over his sandy hair.

"You gotta come back from London more, okay?" He said seriously, sending her a glare that could rival Hotch's. Emily had to let out a laugh at that.

"Yes, sir. You're right! But I'm here now, so we have to make up for lost time." Emily told him.

"Are ya gonna come to our house?" Jack asked excitedly.

"I am! Did you do all your homework and eat dinner with your Aunt Jessica?" Emily asked him.

Jack nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Come on, I got a lot of stuff to show you, Emily!" Jack said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the car. "Come on, Dad! You're driving!" The boy called from behind his shoulder.

Both adults laughed at the boy's enthusiasm, and Emily dutifully sat in the passenger seat, dramatically making a show of it just to make Jack laugh.

Hotch followed, and soon the three of them found themselves back at the Hotchner household.

XxxxxX

The second they got in the door, Jack grabbed Emily's hand and led her up to his bedroom. He showed her various new books, toys, and school projects he had on display in his room. The room looked so different from the last time she'd seen it in some ways. He'd gotten rid of a lot of things, like his dinosaur toys and his toy race cars. Except for a couple that he'd shown her. Emily recalled one of the ones as one she had given him as a Christmas present one year, and she felt her heart melt. She didn't know if he'd kept it because he'd just liked it, or because she'd given it to him; but either way it touched her deeply.

He caught her up on everything happening in the third grade, and about soccer, and everything in between. Emily listened intently, as the two of them sat on Jack's bed together. Jack was growing up so quickly, Emily could hardly believe it. She couldn't even imagine how Hotch or Jessica had to feel, since they'd been there with him since day one.

A few minutes later, their conversation was interrupted by a light knock at the door.

Hotch poked his head in the room with a smile.

"I hate to interrupt you, but if you're interested, I set up a game in here we can all play if you'd like." He informed them.

"Is it Sorry?" Jack asked, intrigued. After all, Sorry was his favorite board game, and he was really good at it.

"It is," Hotch confirmed with a nod.

"Wanna play it with us, Emily? Please?" Jack asked as he looked up at her.

"I would love nothing more, sweetie." Emily replied as she grabbed his hand and led him out of the room.

The three of them played three games in a row, Jack winning the first two and Emily winning the last. After that, Hotch sent Jack to get ready for bed. The boy did as he was asked, and Emily helped Hotch clean up the board game.

"He really had fun tonight, thanks for coming." Hotch said as he put the lid on the game box and stuck it under the coffee table, deciding to put it in it's proper place later.

"Thank you for inviting me, I had a great time, too." Emily smiled. It was true, for the first time in days Emily wasn't worrying. She was enjoying herself, she was laughing, smiling, and joking like she used to. It felt really great, she had to admit.

Before Hotch could respond, they heard footsteps rapidly approaching them.

"I came back to tell Emily goodnight," Jack informed them.

Emily opened her arms, and Jack rushed into them and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks for playing Sorry with me and Dad, and for letting me show you my stuff!" Jack said as he looked up at her, never releasing his hold from around her waist.

"You're welcome, Jack. I'll have to come visit you again soon, how's that sound?" Emily asked with an over dramatic raise of her eyebrow, causing Jack to laugh.

"Okay! Goodnight Emily, goodnight, Dad!" Jack smiled as he hugged Emily one last time, and headed over to his father, hugging him goodnight and racing back toward his room.

"You don't tuck him in anymore?" Emily asked as the two of them sat down on the couch.

"No, he's decided he's too old for that. Sometimes he'll still ask me to, but generally he just comes to find me and tells me goodnight." Hotch informed her.

Emily nodded.

There was a stiff silence between them for a few minutes, but Hotch finally spoke again.

"How are you? Really," He asked her, realizing she wasn't going to start the conversation.

"I'm alright. It's...it's hard some days. Some days I'll go to visit my mother and she won't know me. Or she'll send me away because she thinks she's working and I'm being a meddling kid. Sometimes I leave, but mostly I just go sit in the lobby and wait around, you know, in case she needs me." Emily admitted.

Hotch just reached out and held her hand encouragingly as she continued.

"But on some days, she knows exactly who I am and what's going on. On those days, we play a lot of cards, watch a lot of crappy TV, and we do a lot of talking." Emily told him, unable to stop the smile from spreading across her face.

"That's good, I know it's not ideal, but I'm glad you guys are getting those days." Hotch said.

Emily nodded. "Yeah, me too." She smiled.

They talked for a while longer, and Emily's worries and anxieties faded away in no time. Hotch was able to calm her fears and put her at ease. He was always willing to listen to her. He didn't discredit her emotions. He never told her she was being irrational, even when she probably was. It was refreshing and wonderful and so nice to have. Emily had called a cab to take her home, not wanting Hotch to have to rouse Jack and drag him along; and also not feeling comfortable to stay the night again.

The entire time at Hotch's, and the entire drive home, Emily could only hear her mother's voice in her head.

_You can't let him get away, Emily. You can't. _

She didn't plan on it.

XxxxX

Emily reached out and squeezed George's hand in hers as they sat in the parking lot of Elizabeth's nursing home.

"Are you ready?" Emily asked gently.

"I'm ready," George replied with a nod as he moved his hand and unbuckled his seatbelt.

Together, they headed into the home and up to Elizabeth's room. They walked in together and found Elizabeth sitting in her favorite spot: the chair by the window. The television in her room was on, but they could both tell Elizabeth wasn't paying any attention to it.

"Hey, Mom." Emily greeted her mother as she headed over to her and hugged her gently. The two had probably exchanged more hugs in the past few weeks than they ever had in Emily's entire life.

"Hello, Em." Elizabeth replied with a light smile. Emily knew her mother was nervous about George coming, but Emily had assured her that she would call the nursing home and make sure Elizabeth was having a lucid day before she brought George with her.

"Hi, Liz." George said gently as he inched closed to the two brunettes. He sat down on Elizabeth's bed and gently reached out to hold Elizabeth's hand in his. Emily smiled, he was probably the only person on the planet that called Elizabeth anything but her full name, or Ambassador. With the exception of Emily, of course. Seeing her mother relax and her eyes soften, Emily quietly crept out of the room and headed down to the lobby to wait for one of them to come and get her.

Neither Elizabeth nor George seemed to notice Emily leave.

"Hi, George. It's so good to see you." Elizabeth said honestly, taking in George's appearance, as if she was trying to store away every last detail.

"I'm really glad to see you, too." He smiled.

"Well, welcome to my humble abode." Elizabeth joked as she rose and gave him a brief tour of the room. The two of the headed out of the room and down the stairs, hand-in-hand, while Elizabeth showed him around the rest of the home.

The two of them talked about times past, Elizabeth bringing up most of the subjects because George didn't want to bring something up that she might not remember right now.

Many of the old stories had them both practically doubled over with laughter. Elizabeth hadn't laughed like that in a very, very long time. Emily's daily visits cheered her up, but there was something about George that just made her feel even more at home.

After the two of them had been asked three times to keep their volume down, they went back to Elizabeth's room, still holding hands and giggling the whole way, like teenagers.

Elizabeth opted to sit on her bed and lean up against the pillows on the headboard instead of her chair, motioning for George to sit next to her. He did just that.

They didn't speak for a few minutes; they just enjoyed each other's company.

Finally, Elizabeth scooted a little closer to him and rested her head on George's chest.

"Thank you," She whispered.

"For what?" George asked.

"For coming here today. For sticking with me all these years, when I know at times it probably wasn't easy. For becoming a sort of father figure to Emily after the divorce. You didn't have to look out or her the way you did, the way you have. But you did, no questions asked. It means a lot to me… all of it means so much to me. I just never took the time to thank you." Elizabeth told him.

"I've always known how grateful you are, Liz. Don't ever doubt that." George said firmly, but softly. He pulled Elizabeth just a little closer to him.

"I'm so glad." Elizabeth whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. She blinked them back quickly. After another few minutes of silence, Elizabeth spoke again.

"You know, Emily's been harassing me since day one to let me have you visit." Elizabeth admitted.

"Why didn't you let me, Liz?" George asked the burning question. He wasn't mad; he just wanted to know if it was something he had done to make her uncomfortable.

Elizabeth sighed, raising her head from his shoulder and looking at him.

"I just- I didn't want you to see me like this. You and I have been more than colleagues for years, George. Emily sees you as family. I see you as…" She cut herself off.

"As what?" George prodded. He squeezed her hand. "My answer is probably the same as yours." He added at her hesitation to continue.

"I didn't want you to come and visit because I…because I love you, George." Elizabeth said finally, the tears falling quickly from her eyes.

George brushed them away with his thumbs.

"I love you too, Elizabeth, I love you, too." He replied, the words feeling so foreign and yet so familiar on his tongue. Neither of them had ever said those words out loud before, but in this moment it felt right; like they'd done it every day for almost thirty years. George wished that they were having this conversation under better circumstances, completely unaware that Elizabeth was thinking the exact same thing.


	12. Chapter 12

**I know you guys really want to see more team members make an appearance, and I promise you those chapters are definitely on the way! My classes for this semester have ended, so I'll probably have a lot more time to write and update in the coming months : ) As always, thank you all SO much for your kind reviews. I was kind of nervous to write this one because it deals with some pretty heavy stuff, and pretty much every piece of medical information I know I get from Grey's Anatomy (or my mom, who just so happens to be an EMT!), so I hope I'm doing alright! **

XxxxxX

Emily brought George with her to visit Elizabeth three more times that week. It made both Elizabeth and George so happy, that Emily didn't really mind that most of the time she was out in the lobby reading; like she was doing now while she let the two older adults have some time together.

Emily had been back in DC for almost a month and a half, and she was still trying to get used to her new routine. Normally, even drastic life changes didn't affect her very much since she grew up with everything around her always changing. But it seemed that no matter how many days in a row Emily did the same exact thing, when she woke up, she always had to remind herself that she was going to visit her sick mother.

The phone in Emily's pocket began to vibrate. Confused, she pulled it out and looked, smiling when she noticed it was Hotch. Emily stepped outside to answer it, accepting the call just before she would have missed it.

"Hey," Emily smiled. She and Hotch had been talking nearly every day. Sometimes they would talk on the phone well into the night; but other times it was just a couple of texts throughout the day. Emily wanted to do better about keeping in contact with him; she didn't want to ruin their friendship.

"_Hey, yourself," _Hotch replied.

"What are you doing, calling me in the middle of the day?" Emily asked playfully.

"_Well, everyone else is taking a lunch break. Also, I have to give Jack an answer to the question I'm going to ask you in a few seconds as soon as I call him after he gets to Jessica's after school._" Hotch told her.

Emily laughed, knowing Jack had probably schemed something up for them to do tonight. "Oh do you? What are you supposed to ask me?" She wondered, intrigued by the whole conversation.

"_Since it's Friday, Jack was wondering if you'd like to come over tonight and eat pizza and watch a movie with us?_" Hotch offered.

"Jack was wondering, huh?" Emily quipped.

"_Both of us would love it if you came, Emily. Seriously. Jack's been dying to see you again, and inviting you over was his idea_," Hotch admitted. "_But I guess I could put up with you for a few hours, if I have to._" He added.

Emily rolled her eyes and laughed again. He was always making her laugh these days, and she welcomed it greatly. _"Yeah, I think we can play nice for Jack. I'd love to come._" Emily said.

"Great!" Hotch responded happily. "I should be home with Jack by 6, if you wanted to swing by around 6:30 or so." Hotch told her.

"Okay, I'll be there." Emily said with a smile as they said their goodbyes and she pocketed her phone again. She reentered the building with a smile plastered on her face. She probably looked ridiculous, but it was kind of hard for her not to be excited. She really missed them, but she hadn't realized just how much until she had seen them after being away for so long. She missed everyone, actually. She knew Hotch was keeping her return a secret; but she was starting to think that maybe it was time to let everyone know. Maybe she should start letting more people in, she thought as she headed up to her mother's room to check on her and George. She found them exactly as she did every other time she had gone to make sure they didn't need anything: sitting together on the bed laughing, telling Emily that they were completely fine and she shouldn't worry so much and that she should go do something for herself.

Emily couldn't help but smile as she left the room. She felt like ever since Elizabeth had started letting George back in her life, that she was having more lucid days than not. Maybe he had something to do with it, maybe it was just coincidence; whatever it was, Emily was happy that her mother didn't seem so sad and lonely anymore.

XxxxX

At exactly 6:35pm that night, Emily knocked on Hotch's apartment door, two pizza boxes in hand. She had offered to just pick it up on the way, despite Hotch's futile protest.

When the door opened a few seconds later, Emily was greeted with both Hotchner boys' smiling faces.

"Hi, Emily!" Jack said excitedly.

"Hi, Jack!" Emily said as she passed the pizzas over to Hotch so she could give Jack a hug. "Have you grown since last week?" She asked him. He probably hadn't, but she could swear he looked taller.

Jack just laughed. "No! Maybe you got shorter." He said very seriously.

Emily couldn't help but laugh in response. "You're probably right about that," she said with a wink.

"Jack, why don't you and Emily go pick out a movie while I put this in the kitchen?" Hotch offered.

"Okay!" Jack agreed as he took Emily's hand and led her into the living room, where a whole stack of Jack-friendly DVDs sat on the coffee table.

"Do you think we could watch all these in one night?" Emily asked jokingly. "I'm sure you dad would _love _it if I gave you all kinds of sugar and stayed up all night watching movies with you, don't you think?" She said, knowing Hotch could hear her, stealing a glance into the kitchen. Hotch was just smiling and shaking his head.

"Definitely!" Jack agreed, playing along with Emily.

"You can pick two!" Hotch called into the living room.

"Well Jack, looks like I owe you one all-nighter when you're a little older." Emily said. "What ones are your favorites?" Emily asked the boy.

Jack looked at the stack of movies in front of him, a look of pure concentration on his face. Emily bit back a smile; he looked so much like Hotch when he made that face.

"I like these," Jack said as he picked up _Cars _and _Toy Story_. "Have you seen 'em, Emily?" He asked her.

"You know what? I haven't. But if they're your favorites, then I think we need to fix that. What do you think?" Emily asked.

"Yeah! You'll like them. Dad likes them, too." Jack informed her as he went over to the TV and put one of the movies in the DVD player.

Emily smiled, imagining Hotch watching an animated children's movie and _enjoying _it. It was a nice image, Emily had to admit.

By then, Hotch had come into the room with the pizza and plates for them all. They all sat on the couch, Jack in between the two adults.

The three of them ate pizza and watched all of _Cars _and half of _Toy Story _before Hotch looked over and noticed that not only had Jack fallen asleep, but so had Emily. He smiled, Emily was leaning against the back of the couch, her arm draped around Jack's shoulder. Jack was cuddled close to Emily, and Hotch didn't have the heart to make either of them move at the moment.

Hotch turned off the movie, and started cleaning up their mess from dinner. He decided to leave the dishes in the sink for the night, not wanting the noise to wake Jack or Emily up. He threw the pizza box away, and was straightening up in the kitchen when he heard someone come up behind him.

"Need any help?" Emily asked softly.

"No, I think everything's been taken care of. Lucky you, you slept right through dinner clean up," Hotch joked.

Emily laughed lightly. "That was my plan all along."

"Jack still asleep?" Hotch asked.

Emily nodded. "I felt bad moving him when I woke up, but I thought you might need some help. He didn't even stir when I moved him, though."

"I'll go take him to his room. I'll be right back." Hotch said quietly. Emily nodded in agreement and went to sit on the couch after Hotch took Jack upstairs.

A few minutes later, Hotch returned.

"That," he said with a sigh. "Has to be the last time I carry him up those stairs."

Emily laughed. "He's grown so much. He'll be as tall as me before long."

"Tell me about it." Hotch said as he sat down next to Emily, neither of them realizing how the other had moved just a little bit closer when he sat down.

"So," he said after a beat of silence. "How was your week?" Hotch asked.

Emily shrugged. "You know, the same. I think George coming with me a few days a week is really going to do my mom some good. They're so cute together, they're like teenagers." Emily smiled. "Although, I kind of feel like a third wheel, but it's worth it if she's happy." She added.

"What do you do when they're together?" Hotch wondered.

"A lot of sitting by myself and reading." Emily chuckled.

"All alone?" Hotch asked.

Emily nodded. "I want to give them their time, you know? But I don't really have much to do if I'm not with my mom. I've cleaned the already spotless house, like, three times just this week!" Emily laughed.

"Emily, you know that on days when you're feeling like you're a third wheel," he used her term with a smile, "You could just call up anyone on the team. They'd love to see you, and I would be more than willing to give someone a longer lunch if it meant they got to spend time with you." Hotch told her.

Emily bit her lip. "You know, earlier I was thinking that it might be nice to see them. Or, at least, _tell them_ that I'm here. I feel like I'm lying to them, and I guess I technically am. But I've asked you to keep this huge secret from our friends, and that's not really fair. Besides, I miss them." Emily admitted.

"Everyone misses you. They'll be really happy to see you, not under these circumstances. But still." Hotch told her. "Also, I think Rossi might be onto us." Hotch added.

Emily had to laugh out loud. "You make it sound like a secret love affair or something. How does he know? He doesn't seem mad, does he?" Emily asked, suddenly worried.

"No, he's not mad. He just noticed that I was on my phone a little more than normal. So he came into my office and started asking me questions. He probably bought it, but then you called me. I'm not entirely sure if he saw your name on the screen, but I'm sure he did. He's Rossi. He sees everything." Hotch joked. "Anyway, the past few days he's been asking me if I've heard from you and if he'll get to see you any time soon." He informed her.

"Oh," Emily said. "Do you think anyone else will be mad that I didn't tell them? I mean…after the Doyle thing and me coming back and then leaving again…" She trailed off.

"Emily, no one's going to be mad at you. I'm sure they'll all understand your reasoning. Don't worry about it, okay? You don't have to tell anyone until you're ready. This secret love affair is safe with me." He said seriously.

Emily smiled. "You're a real charmer," She said dryly. "I do want to tell them soon, but not right now." She told him.

"That's okay." He told her with a reassuring smile.

The two of them spent a long time just talking. They talked about whatever came to their minds, some of it personal; but most of it little random things. It was nice; both of them needed the mindless, yet somehow fulfilling, conversation.

After a while, Hotch noticed Emily practically falling asleep mid-sentence.

"Emily, why don't you stay here? I can't let you drive when you're about to fall asleep talking about aliens." Hotch said. How they'd even _gotten _to the topic of aliens, he had no idea. But somehow, here they were.

"What about Jack?" She asked before yawning for the five hundredth time, despite her efforts to not do that.

"I can just wake you up before I wake him up. But even if you were still here when he got up, I don't think it would confuse him at all. He knows you and I are friends. However, I think he thinks you are more _his _friend than my friend." Hotch smiled.

"I _am _more Jack's friend than I am yours, don't you know that?" Emily quipped.

Hotch playfully rolled his eyes. "Well, then, if he wakes up and sees you're still here, I don't think it'll be a problem." He told her.

"Mm," Emily mumbled, leaning back against the couch and closing her eyes. "I'm too tired to argue about it, so I guess you win tonight, Hotchner." She told him.

"Good, because if I sent you home tonight I would be worried about you falling asleep at the wheel. Do you need clothes?" He asked.

"No, this is fine." Emily said. She was wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt, that would be fine to sleep in.

"Okay. I'll go get you a pillow and a blanket, and an extra toothbrush. The toothbrush has Spider-Man on it, is that okay?" Hotch asked.

"I would be offended if you allowed me to use anything _but _a Spider-Man toothbrush." She replied. Hotch shook his head and headed off to get Emily's things. Ordinarily, she would have offered to do that herself, but she was so tired she couldn't think about moving. She'd been sleeping pretty well lately, but there was just something about being with Hotch and Jack this evening that had truly allowed Emily to unwind; which caused her to realize exactly how tired she was.

A few minutes later, Hotch emerged from upstairs. He put a pillow down at one end of the couch, and the blanket at the other.

"I put your toothbrush in the bathroom down here, I didn't think you'd like to sleep with it." He said.

"Very astute assumption, Agent Hotchner." Emily retorted with a laugh, her eyes still closed.

"Alright, well, I'll see you in the morning, okay?" Hotch said.

"Thank you for tonight, I've had a really nice time. I'm sorry I'm literally falling asleep as we speak." Emily said, her voice quiet and tired.

"Any time, Emily. Goodnight." He said as he retreated back up the stairs for the night.

Reluctantly, Emily opened her eyes and forced herself to stand up and go brush her teeth. No matter how tired she was, the thought of _not _brushing her teeth after eating so much pizza wasn't something she wanted to do.

When she returned to the couch, she pulled the blanket Hotch had gotten for her up over her shoulders and lay down. She wasn't even sure her head had hit the pillow before she had fallen asleep.

XxxxxX

At 5am, Emily found herself awake. She couldn't really figure out why, because 5am was certainly not a time that she would like to see. Ever.

Sighing, Emily sat up when she realized she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep. She went into the kitchen and found her phone sitting on the counter.

But of course, it was dead.

She sighed again, before remembering where Hotch kept a spare charger. She headed back into the living room and fished it out of the coffee table drawer, plugging her phone in an outlet by the couch and sitting back down.

At least now she could see if Clyde had found an official replacement for her yet. He had been sending her the files of people that had applied, and had let her read them and choose people she thought would handle the job the best. She had sent him her top two people a few days ago, and she hoped by now maybe he had replied to her. That would at least give her something to do for a bit while she waited for Hotch to wake up.

Finally, her phone started back up and she noticed she had a lot of missed calls.

Twelve missed calls, to be exact.

Two from Elizabeth's nursing home, Six from George, and the rest from some number that Emily didn't recognize.

Instantly, she feared the worse. She felt her eyes start to burn and her breathing started to quicken. She took a breath, forcing herself to regain composure and _only _freak out if she had to.

She decided to call George's number first.

He answered on the first ring.

"Emily? Where are you?" He asked.

"I'm- I'm at Aaron's house." Emily said, her voice cracking. "I didn't mean to stay the night, I fell asleep..." She explained.

"It's okay, Emily. It's just… it's your mother." He said.

"What happened?" Emily asked. "Is she okay?"

"I got a call a few hours ago, apparently she woke up around 1 this morning and…and she was, well, you know, not herself," George explained, and Emily knew exactly what he meant. She had probably woken up and thought she was in an embassy somewhere and that she had something important to do. That was usually what happened, anyway. "And she… she fell. They had to admit her to the hospital." George told her.

"What hospital?" Emily demanded.

"Georgetown," George answered, knowing that no matter what he said now, Emily wasn't going to listen.

"I'm on my way." Emily said as she hung up the phone. She left Hotch a note, but she didn't allude to the crisis she was currently having. She just told him that she woke up early on her own and that she would talk to him later.

She didn't need to worry him yet, she didn't even know what exactly was wrong with her mother, but that was the only thing on her mind as she quietly crept out of Hotch's front door and down to her car.


	13. Chapter 13

**I honestly cannot believe how many reviews, follows, and favorites this story has!? You guys are so amazing, and you really motivate me to keep this story going! So as a thank you, reviewer 100 gets a oneshot of their choosing! Just make sure you have a way for me to contact you if you post anonymously so I can let you know and you can tell me what you want me to write! Also don't hate me xoxoxo **

XxxxxX

Emily sped to the hospital, breaking all kinds of laws and not caring at all. Once she finally arrived, she parked her car and sprinted into the building. She was about to demand for information from the young man sitting at the front desk, but before she could, George approached her and gently put a hand on his shoulder.

"Emily, come sit down." He said softly.

"Just tell me what's happening," Emily snapped as she blinked back tears. She wasn't going to let herself get worked up unless there was a reason to.

"She's had a stroke, and she fell because she lost consciousness. They think she broke her collar bone when she fell. She's in surgery right now." George explained calmly.

"Surgery?" Emily choked out. "Why?" Truthfully, she didn't know that much about strokes, and right now she wished she did. She felt so uninformed and helpless.

"A brain bleed caused the stroke. They're doing a craniotomy to stop the bleeding and then when she wakes up, they'll have to assess everything else." George told her.

Emily ran her hands through her hair. She bit her lip and met George's eyes.

"This is so bad, isn't it?" Emily asked softly, shaking her head. She already knew how bad this was, but some part of her hoped she was somehow wrong.

"It's…not good." George settled on saying.

Emily nodded. "I…I need some air, if they come and tell you anything I'll…I'll be just outside." Emily said quickly as she practically ran out of the hospital.

Once outside, she found herself pacing. Her mind was racing, her heart was racing. She had so many questions and she knew none of them were going to get answered until her mother was stable.

She wanted to know if this stroke was related to her disease. She wanted to know what caused it if not. She wanted to know if there was something she should have been looking out for, if somehow Emily could have prevented this. She forced herself to take deep breaths, because she could feel a panic attack coming on and she was not about to let that happen in front of the hospital entrance while she was alone.

She knew it was incredibly too early to call Hotch, but she really wished he was here. She knew that he would know how to keep her calm, and even if she couldn't stay calm, that he would be right there with her. But she knew he had Jack, and she wasn't going to take away from their weekend together.

She paced for a few more minutes, continuing to force herself to breathe slowly. She felt a little calmer, but she couldn't stand the thought of going back into that stuffy waiting room. She took a breath and made herself step back inside, because she wanted to be there for George. She knew he had to be just as terrified as she was.

She found him sitting in a chair towards the back of the room all alone. She hurried over to him and sat down next to him, taking the older man's hand in hers.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you." Emily said quietly.

"No, it's okay. I did the same thing when I first got here." George said.

"When did she go back for surgery?" Emily asked, trying not to let her voice crack.

"I'm not sure exactly. It's been hours." George replied.

"That…that means something happened, doesn't it? They're operating on her _brain_ for God's sakes, anything could go wrong!" Emily rambled worriedly.

"I'm sure someone will be out in a minute to tell us she made it out fine, and that she's going to be okay. It'll be alright, Emily." George said calmly.

Emily blew out a breath, she knew he was right. Worrying wasn't going to solve anything. They just had to wait.

Twenty minutes later, someone called out Elizabeth's name. Both Emily and George rose from their seats, eager to hear how everything went.

"Hi, my name is Doctor Greene, I operated on Mrs. Prentiss." The tall, dark-skinned said as he approached them. Realizing neither of them cared about formal greetings, he continued. "She was brought in early this morning after a fall in her nursing home. After we ran some tests, we noticed a bleed in her brain. That bleed is the cause of her stroke, which led to her fall. I had some trouble locating it, but I got it to stop and got her stabilized. She hasn't woken up yet, but she should very soon. Her right arm is immobilized with a sling to aide in the healing of her collar bone, and her head is a little swollen and bandaged. You'll notice the left side of her face is a little droopy, but that's from the stroke. I can't tell you how she'll be once she wakes up, I'll have to assess her later on. Do you have any questions? Doctor Greene asked gently.

"Did this happen because of her Alzheimer's?" Emily blurted, just needing all the information she could get about her mother's condition.

"No," the doctor confirmed. "No, this is an isolated incident. Although, I hate to say this but, oftentimes those who have had strokes have problems with their memory. The stroke may make things worse for a little while; but like I said, I can't give you an accurate prognosis just yet." He added.

"I want to see her." Emily whispered, fighting back tears.

The doctor just nodded and led them up to Elizabeth's room. Emily led George go in first and she followed closely behind him.

The doctor was saying something, but Emily couldn't process it. She pulled up a chair by her mother's bed and sat next to it, just staring at her. She didn't even look like herself. She had a giant bandage all the way around her head, she was so pale, and although she was sleeping, she didn't look very peaceful. Her arm was plastered to her chest, and it didn't look very comfortable.

Emily took her mother's good hand in hers and gently stroked the top of it with her thumb.

"Oh, Mom." She said softly.

She half-heard the doctor leave the room. Only then did she finally let herself cry. She felt George stand beside her and wrap an arm around her shoulders.

The two of them sat there together, neither of them saying anything. What was there to say? After some time, Emily had stopped crying. She looked up at the grey-haired man standing next to her.

"I'm gonna give you some time…just come find me if she wakes up." Emily said softly as she stood and exited the room quickly.

She glanced at the clock, it was barely 8am. Still too early to bother Hotch, Emily thought. She felt so selfish; it wasn't like he was obligated to be there for her. But she just couldn't get him off her mind.

She slowly made her way down to the main floor again, not really sure where she was going or what she was doing. She felt like she was just going on autopilot, like her movements were not her own.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she almost ran into someone.

"Oh, sorry." She mumbled out an apology.

"Emily?" Hotch said as he took her shoulders in his hands, making her look up at him.

"What…are you doing here?" Emily stammered out. She was surprised, relieved, and confused all at the same time. How had he known to come here? What had he done with Jack? What if this had ruined their weekend plans?"

"I woke up about an hour ago and found your note. You left your phone, so I used it to calling your mother's house. But no one answered, so I called George, but he didn't answer either. I got a little worried, so I called your mother's nursing home. I practically had to threaten them to tell me what happened and where she was, but I eventually got it out of her. Jack was still sleeping, so I go Jessica to come over and watch out for him for a bit." He explained gently.

"Aaron, you didn't…I didn't expect you to do this." She blurted.

"Why wouldn't I be here for you, Emily? I'm your friend, and you really need a friend right now. How's your mom?" He asked.

"I don't know, she's not awake yet." Emily replied simply. She was putting her walls back up, because around him they were already pretty weak, and she wasn't ready for a complete breakdown yet.

"Why didn't you wake me this morning? I could have driven you here." Hotch wondered, leading her to two empty chairs in the waiting area and gently guiding her to sit down. Then he sat next to her and waited for her to respond.

"It was so early, and I didn't know how bad this was yet. I just knew that she had fallen and that she was here. You have Jack and I know you don't get a lot of weekends with him because you're away a lot. I just didn't want you to feel like you had to be here, because you don't have to be, you know." Emily said softly, fighting back more tears.

"Jack would understand, Emily. We didn't have much planned this weekend anyway. I have to take him to soccer practice this afternoon, but beyond that we were just going to have a lazy weekend. We don't get enough of those. And I know that I don't _have _to be here. I just want to be. I want to help you in any way that I can. So don't you worry about anything else except your mother right now, okay?" Hotch said reassuringly.

"Okay," Emily nodded simply. She was too scared and emotionally spent to argue with him right now, anyway.

"Let's go see how your mom is, alright? Then maybe you and I can go down to the cafeteria and maybe you'll let me buy you a cup of crappy coffee." He offered.

Emily sent him a smile, though her eyes were filled with tears that she wasn't allowing to fall just yet. "There's a Starbucks two blocks away," She said softly. "If you're going to buy me coffee, at least get me the good stuff." She managed to joke as she rose from the chair and offered a hand out to Hotch.

He took it, and they walked closely together toward the elevator. They seemed to realize at the same time that they were holding hands still, and they both jerked their hands away and awkwardly glanced around the elevator. Neither of them said anything about it.

"We should invite George with us to Starbucks when we go. I think that would be good for him. He might be even more worried than I am." Emily commented as the elevator dinged and they got off on Elizabeth's floor.

"That sounds like a plan." Hotch smiled as he let Emily lead him to Elizabeth's room. Only two people were allowed in at once, so Hotch waited outside by the door.

"Hey," Emily said softly as she entered the room. George was sitting in the chair that Emily had been sitting in before, holding Elizabeth's hand and staring at the wall.

"Hey," He replied softly, never taking his gaze off the wall.

"Has anything changed?" Emily asked, knowing it hadn't, but feeling like she had to ask anyway.

"No, they keep saying she's okay and she should be waking up any minute now. But what if she doesn't?" He finally asked the question that Emily had been shoving in the back of her mind. What _if _Elizabeth never woke up? It was rare, but Emily had heard of people who had brain surgery that just never woke up. What if that happened to her mother? She couldn't think about it right now.

Emily cleared her throat, forcing herself to sound strong for George. "She's a fighter. She'll wake up." Emily sent him a weak smile.

"You're right. She's a Prentiss. She's not gonna go down without a fight." George returned the smile.

After a few moments of silence, Emily spoke again. "So, um, Aaron found out what happened after he threatened someone at the nursing home to tell him what was going on," she had to laugh at that image. She was sure he went all "FBI" on whoever he was talking to, and that the person had willingly complied after that. "And I ran into him downstairs. We're just about to head over to Starbucks and get some decent coffee that doesn't taste like watered down cough syrup, if you'd like to join us." Emily offered.

George looked at Elizabeth, then back at Emily as if he was contemplating the decision.

"If she wakes up while we're gone, it's okay. As soon as her eyes are open they're going to start doing tests on her to see how much damage the stroke actually did. You should really come with us." Emily prodded gently.

At this, George gently placed Elizabeth's hand back on the bed and rose slowly. "You're right, I think I will come with you; if you're sure an old man like he won't bring you down." He said finally.

"Of course not." Emily smiled as she linked his arm with his and headed out of the room where they met up with Hotch.


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm so sorry this chapter took me so long to get up! I have so much of this already planned out, but for some reason I just couldn't get all the words to go together like I wanted. I think I've finally got it now, though! And I know so many of you want to see more team, and I promise you they are most definitely on their way—look out for the next chapter! ; )**

**On another note, all of your reviews are literally SO sweet. I always mean to take the time and reply to those of you that I can contact, but basically my memory is awful and my motivation is even more awful. Every review I get makes me smile and brightens up my day so much, especially the really long ones. You're all WAY too nice to me! Since this took me soooo long to get up, I didn't cut it where I originally planned, so it's pretty long. I hope you guys like it and thank you again for your sweet words! Xoxo**

XxxxxX

Emily, Hotch, and George walked quietly to Starbucks, the silence between the three of them a comfortable one. It was only a couple of blocks away, so they got there in a very few minutes.

"Why don't you two find somewhere for us to sit, and I'll go get the coffee?" Emily offered. George and Hotch agreed. They told Emily what they'd like, both of them attempting to get their wallets out and give Emily some money, but the brunette had turned and walked away before they could do so. The men laughed, shaking their heads and moving toward the back of the cafè and sitting at a table.

"I'm not sure we've actually properly met," Hotch said as he sat across from George. He'd heard many stories of the older man in front of him; he knew how Emily regarded him as part of the family, but George always insisted on calling her "Miss Prentiss" until very recently.

"I'm Aaron Hotchner," Hotch said as he extended his hand out to the man.

"George Freedman," the man replied as he shook Hotch's hand. "It's good to finally meet you. Emily's told me so much about you." George informed Hotch with a smile.

"All good stuff, I hope." Hotch replied, laughing lightly.

"Eh," George said. "Mostly good." He joked with a wink. "You're really a help to her, I do hope you know that. I don't even know if she realizes it. After she sees you or your son, she always seems to have relaxed a little. I know with everything that's happened, it's hard for her to feel like she can relax and feel normal." The grey haired man said softly, his voice light and tired.

Hotch's lips curled up into a tiny smile. "Emily has been one of my very good friends for years, and a lot of times I really have no idea how to make any of this better for her; but I do try. It seems like hanging out with me and my son makes her feel better. She's always welcome at my apartment. I hope you know that that invitation extends to you as well, George. If you'd ever like to have dinner or go for walks with us, we would love to have you." Hotch said sincerely. He wondered how George was coping with Elizabeth's sickness. He knew from what Emily had told him, that George and Elizabeth had quite the past. He knew they both deeply regretted never having truly expressed their feelings for each other. He couldn't imagine what he'd do in George's situation. It amazed him that the man always seemed so calm and together, always seemed to know exactly what to do.

"Thank you, Aaron. That would be nice, maybe sometime soon we can all do that. Emily adores Jack, I'd like to meet him someday." George replied.

Hotch smiled at the mention of his son. "Jack's head over heels for Emily," he said as they both laughed. "I'll make sure you meet him very soon." He promised, just as Emily approached them with the much needed caffeinated beverages.

"I hope you weren't exchanging embarrassing stories about me," Emily said as she approached, sitting the tray of coffee down and taking a seat next to Hotch.

"You got here right before I was about to tell him about that Atlanta consult you and I went on-" Hotch was cut off with a light slap to the shoulder.

"We said we weren't going to talk about that! Ever!" Emily exclaimed.

"We're not, I was just joking." Hotch sent her a reassuring smile.

The three laughed, sitting in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the calmness of each other's company.

The silence was broken by Hotch's phone ringing, and he stepped away to answer it.

"Probably a case," Emily sighed. "Serial killers have really terrible timing." She half smiled.

"If they knew you were here, they might not have to go." George told her, knowing Emily was hesitant to let her friends in. After all, she was a Prentiss. He knew how she and Elizabeth handled things almost identically. He wasn't sure if the two were ever aware of just how alike they were.

Emily sighed. "I know, I need to tell them. It's only fair to them." She said just as Hotch came back to sit down.

"Was that a case?" Emily asked, trying not to sound disappointed.

Hotch nodded. "It seems pretty bad, we're going to brief in an hour; then decide if we're going to leave right away or wait until Monday morning."

Emily nodded, not really knowing what else to say.

"I'm really sorry, Emily." Hotch apologized.

"No, no," Emily said quickly, shaking her head. "It's not your fault, you guys are the best; so I know you'll get whoever's doing whatever horrible thing is happening to people."

Hotch sent her a smile.

"Why don't the two of you head back to the hospital so Aaron can get his car, and I'll meet you back there soon, Emily." George suggested, sensing that the two of them might want to be alone.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked as she worried at her lip.

"Absolutely." George replied as he waved them off with a smile.

Hotch and Emily rose from their seats and bid George goodbye before heading back to the hospital.

They walked slowly, neither of them exactly sure what to say.

"When you guys get back, I want to tell everyone else. I miss them." Emily blurted quickly, looking down at the sidewalk as they walked.

"You do? If you're not quite ready, don't feel like you have to." Hotch said softly.

"No, I'm ready. They deserve to know." Emily replied.

Hotch sent her a warm smile. "Okay, as soon as we're back I'll let you know."

"Do you think I should have them come over to my mom's house?" She asked, wringing her hands together nervously.

"Don't worry about that right now, Emily. We can get a plan together soon, I just want you to worry about your mom right now, okay?" He said as he gently put his arm around her shoulder reassuringly.

Emily nodded, but still didn't look very convinced.

"What if I discuss it with Dave, and everyone shows up at his place? That way you don't have to worry about playing host, and it'll be somewhere we're all comfortable." Hotch suggested softly.

"Really? You think that'd be okay with him?" Emily asked, relieved at the prospect of not having to clean and provide food and entertainment for so many people. She loved them dearly, but she knew she was definitely not up for that.

"Of course it would. Besides, I think he knows something's up anyway, he'll probably just smirk at me and say 'well, it's about damn time you said something, Aaron.'" Hotch said in a deep voice that was supposed to mock Rossi.

Emily laughed. "Your David Rossi impression is weak, my friend."

"Good thing I stuck with a law enforcement career." He retorted.

They walked in silence until they reached the hospital.

"Is Jessica going to watch Jack today?" Emily asked as they approached Hotch's car. She really wanted to do something in return for Hotch always being there for her, especially lately. He was a Godsend, and Emily wasn't really sure if he knew how much she appreciated him. She'd never been one to show very much emotion, and she had always been even worse with words.

Hotch swore under his breath. "You know what? I'm supposed to pick him up from soccer practice so she can handle some kind of work crisis. And I think she's got a date tonight." He relented. Jessica was such a help to him, but he wished he could give the woman a break more often than he was able to.

"I could take him," Emily volunteered. "If you guys aren't done briefing by the time his soccer practice is over, I mean. And even if you and the team have to fly out tonight, he's more than welcome to stay with me. Or I could even keep him at your place, if he'd be more comfortable."

"Emily, I couldn't ask you to do that…" He said.

"You're not asking. I'm offering. Really, Aaron. I want to do this." Emily persuaded, looking at him with those big brown eyes that she knew he couldn't say no to.

"Don't you want to stay here with George and your mom?" Hotch asked.

"I do want to be here when she wakes up, but…if I sit here and wait any longer I'm going to either give myself an ulcer or bite my lip off from worrying so much." Emily admitted. "I need something else to do, and you know I am definitely better friends with Jack than I am with you." She smirked, eliciting a throaty laugh from Hotch.

"You are absolutely sure you're okay with taking him?" Hotch asked seriously.

"Yes, I know how to take care of an eight year old." Emily assured him.

"Okay," Hotch agreed finally, Emily smiled and fought back the urge to hug him. "Thank you for this, Emily. It really means a lot."

"You know I don't mind." Emily replied with a smile. The two of them awkwardly stared at each other for a moment, before looking away at almost exactly the same time.

"Well," Hotch cleared his throat. "I should go. I'll text you where to get Jack if we decide to fly out today." He told her.

"Okay, I'll see you later, then." She smiled as they parted ways; Hotch to his car and Emily toward the hospital entrance.

Emily couldn't seem to stop thinking about that one little awkward moment between them as she made her way up to Elizabeth's hospital room. What had _that _been about? He'd never looked at her like that before that she could remember. But maybe she was just seeing things. Maybe she just _wanted _him to look at her differently. But why would she want that? She wondered as she chewed on her bottom lip. She wondered if maybe she had overstepped a bit by offering to possibly take Jack overnight until Jessica could watch him.

She wasn't even sure why she had been so insistent herself, really. Her head tried to rationalize it by saying "he's your friend, of course you would offer to watch his son if he needed someone to!" However, a pang in her chest kept telling her "No, no, you want him to love you like you love him."

She shook her head, she _wasn't _in love with him, she reminded herself. He was her best friend, he understood her in ways that no one else did. She cared for him, and he cared for her. But she wasn't in love with the man. That would be stupid, she told herself. Because he is quite happily taken and very much unavailable.

She just couldn't quite get that pang in her chest to go away, no matter how hard she tried. She sighed as she entered her mother's room quietly, taking a seat and sitting next to Elizabeth. Emily gently took Elizabeth's hand in hers, promising silently that at least for now, her only concern was going to be her mother.

XxxxX

While Emily had been sitting with her mother, George came back, having decided to hang back a while in case Hotch and Emily needed the time. The two sat side by side, quietly talking together about the things they would do as soon as Elizabeth woke up. Neither of them dared to say "if she woke up," because that was a fate they couldn't fathom right now.

Not long after 2pm, Emily got a text from Hotch that the team had decided to take the case now, because the unsub seemed to be escalating and they definitely wanted to avoid any more deaths if possible. He'd sent her the address of the park Jack's tea, was practicing in, and explained that he had already told Jessica the plan. Jack didn't know yet, though, so he would be surprised and excited to spend a night with Emily.

She smiled, not realizing she was doing it.

"Must be quite the text," George said lightly.

"Aaron and the team are flying out tonight, and he needs someone to watch Jack until tomorrow, so I said I would." Emily explained. "But I'll be staying at Aaron's apartment with him, because our house isn't very kid friendly, and that's where all Jack's things are." She added.

"Oh, well that's really nice of you, Emily." George smiled.

"He's been so great the past few weeks; it's really the least I could do." Emily shrugged. "I have to go pick Jack up now, actually. But, um, if she- if anything changes please let me know." She said softly as she rose from her chair.

"I will." George promised as Emily quietly left the room.

She headed down to the main area of the hospital, and then out to the parking garage where her car was parked. It was hard for her to believe it hadn't even been a full day since she'd gotten the news about her mother's stroke. It seemed like she'd been here for days, just staring at the monitors and trying to count all the wires attached to her mother's body.

She took a breath and exhaled slowly as she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot onto the main road. Taking care of Jack tonight was going to be good for her, she could already tell. She was glad to see him again.

A few minutes later, she had reached the community park where Jack's practice was being held. It wasn't quite over yet, so Emily parked her car and found Jessica in the small crowd of parents easily.

"Hi, Emily." Jessica greeted her warmly with a smile.

"Hey, it's so good to see you again." Emily said, having remembered meeting the woman on a couple of occasions over the years.

"You, too," Jessica agreed. "Listen, thanks so much for taking Jack. I totally would, but work is being ridiculous. And I've kind of already canceled on my date twice before tonight. Jack of course always comes first, but I really wasn't looking forward to calling to cancel again." Jessica said as she looked down at her perfectly manicured hands.

"Oh, it's no problem. I love hanging out with him. You know, you don't have to feel bad for wanting to go on a date," Emily said as she noticed Jessica's avoidance of eye contact as she talked about it. "That doesn't mean you love Jack any less."

Jessica smiled weakly. "I know. Thank you."

The two made small talk for a few more minutes, before all the kids started packing up their things and coming to meet their parents.

"Emily!" Emily heard the familiar voice behind her.

"Jack!" She exclaimed as she spun around and met Jack's smiling face. She hugged him tightly. "How are you, buddy?" She asked.

"Good! What are you doing here?" He asked curiously.

"Well, Jessica told you about your dad having to go to work, right?" Emily asked as she crouched down a bit so she was eye level with the little Hotchner.

"Mhmmm," Jack nodded.

"Well, Jessica has some stuff she needs to do tonight, so I was wondering if maybe you'd be okay with me staying with you tonight?" Emily wondered, unable to stop herself from smiling as she saw Jack's eyes light up and a giant toothy grin appear on his sweet face.

"Yeah! It's like a sleepover!" Jack jumped up and down, nearly hitting Emily's nose with his shoulder.

"Good!" Emily said as she stood to her normal height. "Tell Jessica bye, and then _maybe _you and I can go get some ice cream." Emily said as she widened her eyes dramatically, evoking a bright smile from Jack.

"Okay!" He agreed, and Emily stepped back a few feet to allow Jack some time to tell Jessica goodbye. A very few moments later, Jack approached her with his soccer bag in hand. Emily took it from him and led him over to her car, putting his bag in the trunk.

"So," Emily said minutes later when they got in the car and were driving down the main road. "Ice cream?"

"Definitely!" Jack agreed from the back seat. Emily smiled as she glanced at him in the rearview mirror. She saw so much of Haley in his appearance, but she also saw a lot of Hotch. She'd only met Haley a very few times, so she wasn't sure how much of her personality he had. But she did know that in his actions and words, she saw so much of Aaron. Not Hotch, the ever stoic FBU agent; but Aaron. The man that was her best friend. The one who put those he loved most ahead of himself at all costs, and who could be equal parts sweet and funny. It amazed her, really, just how much Jack reminded her of him.

Emily turned her attention back to the road. She didn't have many regrets in her life, not even the bad decisions. But as she drove with Jack in the backseat talking to her happily about soccer, school, and his friends- she wished she'd taken time out of her busy life to maybe have her own child. She'd always planned on it, but always later. There had never really been the right time, or the right man, for that matter. She wondered if she did have a child, if it would look like her, or act like her as much as Jack acted like Hotch. She shuddered at that thought, maybe it would be better if her child acted absolutely nothing like her, she decided. She didn't dwell on the idea long, because she knew that if something like that was meant to happen, it would somehow. She considered Declan somewhat of her child. She'd known him since he was small and even if she hadn't been physically present in his life until recently; she'd always checked up on him and sent his parents money for him.

Jack and Henry were pretty much her honorary nephews, so she knew that even if she never actually became a mother, she would always be the really cool aunt. For now, that was enough.

She and Jack arrived at the ice cream shop shortly, Jack trying to contain his excitement as he stayed close to her. He was getting a little old to want to be seen holding an adult's hand in public, but Jack knew to stay close. Emily knew that was due to Hotch's teaching, no doubt.

"Okay," Emily said as they approached the counter. "What kind of ice cream do you think you want?"

"Hmm.." Jack looked at the array of colors and flavors in front of him. "Let's get one of each!"

Emily laughed. "Your dad would probably cause me bodily harm. Let's go with one kind for now, okay?"

Jack nodded and looked intently at the ice cream again. "Can I have mint chocolate chip?" He asked.

"Of course you can," Emily smiled as she ordered a cone of that for him, and a cone of strawberry flavored ice cream for herself.

The two of them found a table to sit at and they ate their ice cream in silence for a few minutes.

"I told Henry that I got to watch Cars with you!" Jack said, breaking the silence. She nearly choked on her ice cream.

She coughed a few times before she cleared her throat and found her voice.

"You did, huh?" Emily asked, trying to remain calm.

"Uh-huh." Jack nodded. "He said he wants you to come to his house and watch a movie with him, too."

"I see…" Emily said as she ran her free hand through her hair. "Well, maybe I can do that sometime very soon."

Jack just nodded and continued eating his ice cream.

Emily wondered if Henry had mentioned that to JJ at all. She wondered if JJ would be mad at her. She knew she was planning on telling the team in a few days when their case ended; but a sudden new wave of anxiety washed over her like a hurricane.

What if Henry _had _told JJ? What if JJ had been mad and talked it over with Garcia? What if Garcia told Morgan? What if Morgan then told Reid? What if they _all _knew? Even Alex Blake, the newest agent, probably knew by now. What if she heard about Emily being back and not telling them and even she was angry about it too?

The brunette tried to slow her breathing. Henry was five, he probably didn't remember to tell JJ about it. And even if he did ask about her, maybe he forgot to mention that Jack had seen her lately. It was fine, she told herself. Everything was fine.

"Are you okay, Emily?" She heard, snapping herself out of her thoughts and back to reality.

"I'm fine." Emily lied with a smile.

"Your ice cream is melting." He pointed out. She bit back a curse and hurriedly picked up some napkins and cleaned it up before the ice cream managed to get onto her clothes. Jack laughed, and she couldn't even find a reason to be worried any more. Tonight, she was going to entertain Jack. She would worry about everything else tomorrow.


End file.
